In these lines I will select richly beneficial texts authentically reported from the scholars of the early generations, whom the Prophet ﷺ is authentically reported to have favored over the other generations of this nation. A thoughtful reader will find great benefit in them despite their few words and concise expressions—one of the hallmarks of their knowledge and speech. All these reports are drawn from the Musnad of al-Darimi, one of the Nine Books:
(1) ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “When you are told something from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, understand it in the way that is most rightly guided, most mindful of Allah, and most fitting.” Al-Darimi, 612.
This report shows the importance of honoring the texts of revelation by protecting them from corrupt assumptions and interpreting them in harmony with the religion’s firmly established principles and the objectives of Islamic law.
(2) Humayd said: I said to ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, may Allah Most High have mercy on him: “If only you would unite the people upon a single position!” He replied: “It would not please me if they had never differed.” He then wrote to the distant regions and the cities: “Let the people of every region judge according to what their jurists have agreed upon.” Al-Darimi, 652.
This report from ‘Umar, may Allah have mercy on him, shows that disagreement among scholars is an enduring occurrence and is a matter that admits latitude and tolerance.
(3) Muhammad ibn Sirin said: “This knowledge is religion, so consider from whom you take your religion.” Al-Darimi, 438.
This is a central and important methodological text. It explains the danger of receiving knowledge from just anyone and the importance of carefully seeking what accords with Allah’s will and good pleasure in matters of knowledge.
(4) ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “Whoever makes his religion a target for disputes will often shift from one position to another.” Al-Darimi, 312.
This report explains one of the causes of regression, failure to remain steadfast on the right path, and frequent shifts between different orientations: that a person’s share of knowledge becomes nothing but disputation, wrangling, and argument about religion.
The early scholars spoke often about this meaning. Among their statements are these words of Abu al-Darda’, may Allah be pleased with him: “It is sin enough for you to be constantly disputing, sin enough for you to be constantly wrangling, and enough to make you a liar that you constantly speak about matters that are not for the sake of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.” Al-Darimi, 301.
(5) ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “Acquire understanding before you become leaders.” Al-Darimi, 256.
Abu ‘Ubayd said: “It means: acquire understanding while you are young, before you become leaders and pride prevents you from learning from those below you, leaving you ignorant.”
(6) Abu al-‘Aliyah said: “We would go to a man to learn [knowledge] from him and observe him when he prayed. If he performed the prayer well, we would sit with him and say: ‘He will perform other things even better.’ If he performed it badly, we would leave him and say: ‘He will perform other things even worse.’” Something similar is also reported from al-Nakha‘i.
Reflect on the central place prayer held for them, on the importance of knowledge showing its effect upon the worshipper while he performs it, and on the fact that a reputation for knowledge alone is not enough.
(7) ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “How will you fare when a trial envelops you in which the old grow decrepit, the young grow up, and people adopt it as an established practice? When it is changed, they say: ‘The established practice has been changed!’” They asked: “When will that happen, Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman?” He replied: “When your reciters become many and your people of understanding become few, your rulers become many and your trustworthy people become few, and worldly gain is sought through deeds intended for the Hereafter.” Al-Darimi, 191.