04/11/2023
Sometimes I tell the Jamaah that the person speaking to them from the Minbar is not the best of them as regards piety.
It is not said as a form of sham humility or some sort of strategic self effacement , it is a statement of fact.
Often times , the one who speaks to you from the minbar, is there because he has a bit of knowledge more than you and has a bit of oratory skills.
Both, knowledge and oratory skills, do not translate into piety.
The acquisition of knowledge and the ability to move masses of men through speech has little to do with taqwa. Knowledge without action and speech without implementation harms the individual in the Hereafter.
Secondly, which is subtle and needs students of knowledge to be very careful of , is the academization of fiqh. As you take deep dives into fiqh and its Usul, it gets so technical and academic that one may lose sight of the very reason you are studying in the first place: Worship.
Related to this , a person hears you talk about tahajjud, he or she goes ahead to religiously abide by it. The student of knowledge understands that it is not compulsory, the tendency to be slack about it becomes greater.
I'm not saying it makes the student of knowledge lesser , after all, the striving to acquire sacred knowledge, outweighs a lot of nawafil. What I am however saying is that beneficial knowledge must be backed by sincerity and action else one becomes a loser in both Worlds.
And you, who patiently listens and applies, the Imam you always ask to pray for you , may not be up to your status in the sight of Allah.
Everyone is pious in public, only Allah knows those who really fear him.