Ta'lim : Part XVII

The Holy Prophet Muhammad Sallahu alaihi wassalam (saw) peace be upon him, on the night of Mi’raaj saw a group of persons whose lips were being clipped with fiery scissors. On asking who they were, Jibrail alaihis salam (a.s.) told him that these persons were preachers from among your followers who did not act on what they preached. A hadiths says; “Some of the residents of Paradise will ask those in Hell: “How are you people here, whereas we followed your preaching, and thereby we got into Paradise?” they will answer; “we did not practice ourselves what we preached to others.”
Another hadith says; “The punishment of Allah will descend more speedily upon the wicked scholars than on the common sinners. They will be astonished to see this, and will sat; “why is the punishment of Allah inflicted on us before the idolaters even?” They will be answered thus; “Those who transgressed in spite of having knowledge of religion are more guilty than those who had not this knowledge.” The Muslim divines have written that the sermons of those who do not practice the religious observances themselves, cannot leave an impression on others. That is why the religious speeches, writings and the journals in this age fall flat on the listeners and the readers!
Abu Darda Radiyallah hu Anhu (ra) is a distinguished Companion of the Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him). He says;”The thing I fear most is the question that wll be put to me on the Day of Judgment in the presence of all people: Did you act upon the knowledge that you possessed?”
A certain Companion of the Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) asked him; “Who is the worst of all creatures?” He answered; “Don’t ask me a question about bad things, but ask me a question about good things. The worst of all creatures are the wicked scholars.”
Prophet Muhammad saw (peace be upon him) said in another hadith; “Knowledge is of two kinds: One, which remains on the tongue only and does not affect the heart and so is in fact an accusation from Allah swt; and the other which penetrates into the heart and revives the spirit: that is indeed useful.” What we mean to say is that a Muslim should not acquire only that knowledge which concerns the formal observances, but also the spiritual knowledge that would purify his heart and enlighten his brain, otherwise it would be a cause for questioning on the Day of Judgment as to how far it was acted upon.