Cover Matter - 8

Duties of a Scholar of Religion

Today the thoughts and incidents of the time are changing so rapidly that without knowing and understanding them you can not do any service to Muslims. Political and economic thoughts are so dominant in today’s world and the moments of revolution are coming and passing so frequently that for a religious scholar, who should be serving Muslims, it is necessary to think about them and to ponder about the ways to solve them. You can not solve these problems by ignoring and turning your attention away. By your turning  away from them neither the world will change its ways nor the times will turn back nor will it change its direction. To face the difficulties and to appropriately participate in current efforts and to work towards achieving proper place for Muslims in the life of the country and the nation too is the duty of a religious scholar.

Today it is considered that the duties of a scholar are only to gather and impart knowledge, to give legal opinion (fatawa) and to classify matters – but it is time that he repeats the earlier lesson of his pious predecessors. Their work is not limited to knowledge and observation but action, efforts and imparting of knowledge too is a significant duty of their office. Every population where he lives must be served by his efforts and service. To teach the unlettered there, to convince the errants there, to help the poors there, to fulfill the requirements there, to convey the message of truth to the riches there, to serve the invalids there, to guide the lost there, to alert Muslims about their weakness, to make them aware of the conditions of the world and by every possible effort of his knowledge and action to benefit them is among the duties of a religious scholar.

Allama Syed Sulaiman Nadwi (RA), Tamir-e-Hayat, July 10, 2010 AC