A Testimony of the Pen and a Clearance of Conscience

A Testimony of the Pen and a Clearance of Conscience

Praise may encircle a writer’s neck with a yoke of expectations they never sought, and a reader may bestow titles on them that they seek refuge in God from. Anyone walking the path of words has the right to declare their landmarks and define their standing—to lift from their shoulders the burden of mentorship and free themselves from the weight of authority they never strove to possess.

Conditions of Knowledge and the Standing of Religious Rulings

Here, I am neither a scholar nor qualified for knowledge or jurisprudence to be received from me. Rather, I stand with all pride upon the threshold of being a "student of knowledge"—a title that satisfies me, rectifies my inner self, and which I pray to God to fulfil in truth. We claim no scholarly authority, issue no religious rulings, and bear no mantle of leadership.

While ours is the domain of experience and literature, knowledge has its masters and religious rulings (fatwa) have their qualified men. Not everyone who masters a language becomes a jurist, nor does everyone who fills a page become an authority. The scholars from whom knowledge is taken, to whom journeys are made, and to whom the reins of religious guidance are entrusted must meet strict conditions and firm rules established by specialists—requirements that go beyond casual learning to encompass the mastery of foundational disciplines and purity of character:

1. Direct Transmission and Oral Reception (From the Mouths of Men, Not Just Pages of Books): A book alone imparts information but does not grant understanding; it preserves texts but does not instil deep scholarship. Thus it was said of old: "He whose teacher is his book, his errors will exceed his correct answers." Sitting before scholars instils proper demeanour, refines nuances, and unlocks complex meanings.

2. Mastery of Foundational Disciplines and Precise Specialisation: Reality demonstrates that a single discipline branches out so extensively that a lifetime is insufficient to encompass it entirely. The Arabic language serves as a prime example, with scholars identifying fourteen distinct branches (grammar, morphology, etymology, semantics, rhetoric, prosody, and others). If such vastness exists merely in the tool of comprehension and language, what then of one who undertakes the derivation of rulings from sacred law?

3. Piety, Righteousness, and Good Character: A religious ruling is an endorsement on behalf of the Lord of the Worlds, and such a responsibility is entrusted only to those known for righteousness, virtuous conduct, and restraining piety. Knowledge is a light granted only to those whose hearts and inner lives God has purified.

4. God-Fearing Independence from Whims: Among the greatest requisites for a mufti is to fear no blame in the cause of God, remaining detached from personal desires, popular expectations, and the pressures of the era—neither bartering God’s verses for a miserable price nor ruling except by evidence and piety.

5. Authorised Certification and Recognised Qualification: Verification through the testimony of established scholars confirming one's competence, mastery of the higher objectives of Islamic law (Maqasid), ability to map rulings onto real-world contexts, and deep insight into contemporary issues and the circumstances of the people.