The Quest for Knowledge

 

Mawlana Mufti Muhammad Shafi Uthmani (may Allah have mercy on him) was the Grand Mufti of Pakistan. His life was spent in teaching and learning. He qualified from Dar ul Ulum Deoband and then also taught there. He was the chief Mufti of the Dar ul Ifta there.

He said once: “Whenever I am going anywhere and observe anyone delivering a sermon or reminder, I stop even for a while to listen to him even if I am in a hurry, for Allah may have inspired him with something that is beneficial to me.”

This was the Grand Mufti to whom people, including the ulama (scholars) came to solve their difficult issues. During his time the people giving the sermons were generally younger than he, his students, or students of his students, or even their students. But he did listen to them so that maybe he might learn what he did not know.

He said further: “To grant knowledge and give benefit is not in the hands of a teacher or the person giving the sermon. It is the grant of Allah who grants it from any means. If anyone goes as a seeker with a true quest then Allah makes the teacher impart that which is beneficial to him, otherwise no one is able to benefit another. There is no one in the universe who may provide benefit to another unless Allah enables him and wills to do that. If He wills, then one sentence is enough and if it is otherwise then even a lengthy speech will do nothing.”

This is why our elders always say: “With the blessing of the quest of the seeker, Allah inspires the speakers heart and tongue with such words that profit the listener.”

It is known about Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanvis (may Allah have mercy on him) gatherings that if a participant went there with questions or a doubt, and though he kept quiet there (without asking), that issue was answered in the gathering itself.

He said about it once: “People suppose that this is my wonder that my tongue answers (unasked) questions. But the fact is that it is Allahs work. When anyone goes as a seeker, Allah puts the information in the speakers heart. People suppose that the speaker read his mind and sometimes they begin to exaggerate and ascribe to the speaker miracles, but there is no such thing. Rather, it is through the blessing of the seekers quest that Allah puts the answer on the speakers tongue.”

So this quest is great. If Allah grants it to anyone then he also creates the means to satisfy it.

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Source: Mufti Taqi Uthmani,  Discourses on Islamic Way of Life