Shaykh Bakr
Aboo Zayd (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
“It is
incumbent upon the student of knowledge to be pre-eminent in adorning himself
with honesty in knowledge: when seeking and acquiring it, implementing it, conveying
it and passing it on. This[1] is
because, success of the Ummah lies in the righteousness of its actions, and the
righteousness of its actions lies in the correctness of its knowledge, and the
correctness of its knowledge lies in its men being honest in what they narrate
or explain. So whosoever speaks about knowledge without honesty has inflicted a
wound upon knowledge and it is as if he has placed a rock to obstruct the path
of the Ummah to success.”[2]
While
commenting on the above words, Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) stated:
“Among the most
important qualities that the student of knowledge should possess is that he
should be honest in his knowledge; he should be honest in conveying it and
honest in explaining it. If he explains a case, he should be honest without
making any addition or omission. When he conveys knowledge, he should be honest
in conveying it without making any addition or omission. Most people fall short
of this honesty. In most cases you will see the one who lacks honesty in
knowledge explaining issues in a manner that it would conform to his opinion
and he would omit the rest text [that does not conform to his opinion]. He
narrates from the people of knowledge - in fact from the texts of the Qur’aan and
Sunnah - that which conforms to his view
and omits the rest. So he is just like the one who said: “Your Lord did not
say woe to those who are intoxicated; rather your Lord said, ‘Woe to those who
pray.’”
He omitted: “Who delay their Salaah (prayer) from their stated fixed times.” There is no doubt
that this is a false step and it is a deceit upon knowledge. This is because,
what is obligatory is to convey knowledge with honesty and explain it with
honesty. It would not harm you if the proof is contrary to what you have
stated, for it is obligatory upon you to follow the proof and to convey it to
the Ummah so that it would have insight into the issue. The like of this
situation – I mean lack of honesty – would necessitate a person becoming a
defiantly disobedient person whose statement should not be trusted nor his
narration accepted because he is a mudallis (one who commits tadless[3])”
Source:
Sharh Hilyah Taalib al-‘Ilm, p. 138-139 by Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih
al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him)
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