While reading the book al-Bayân wa al-Tabyîn by al-Jâhiz, I came across verses of poetry penned by some of the Mu`tazilah in praise of Wâsil b. `Atâ’, the founder of their school of thought. They were extolling his strength of character, the honor in which he was held by his followers, and the sacrifices they were willing to make on his behalf. This surprised me because the Mu`tazilah – being the elitist rationalists that they were – were not generally in the habit of giving public displays of emotion or of addressing the general public.

However, the situation that has become commonplace today among some deviant sects is to show inordinate reverence to their “mullahs” and their “sayyids”. We find throngs of people tagging along behind the least of these personages, each one ready to jump at the slightest gesture of his finger. Perhaps since they have bequeathed upon their imams an aura of infallibility, they therefore afford their scholars and religious leaders something of the same.

You find that if you were to ask some educated people from among them about a certain matter of Islamic Law or a certain tenet of faith, he would immediately tell you to go to the “mullah” and ask him. There can be no doubt that the feelings of loyalty that they have for their religious leaders are much stronger than those that they have for their political ones. This is why, whenever there is a conflict between the two, they invariably put their religious leaders first.

They give their religious leaders the power to determine for them what is right and wrong and to impose on them their will. Such power that they have makes the physical strength of the most formidable weapons pale in comparison.

We should have no doubt that such blind following degrades the worth of the individual, obliterates his identity, and affords him no opinion or personal choice. He must simply plod meekly along with the masses and go with the flow. This is self-destruction. This is a way of thinking that leads to disasters and tragedies the extent of which only Allah has knowledge of. There is absolutely nothing praiseworthy about it. However, I mention all of this to contrast it with the attitude that some people of Ahl al-Sunnah have towards their scholars, especially in modern times.

The scholars of the Sunnah are targeted from all directions. The media likes to stereotype them as “dervishes” and “gluttons” and foist upon them a host of other ignoble epithets. Too often we find people speaking about a scholar who is distinguished in knowledge and respectable of character, yet they do nothing but seek out faults to attribute to him. They seem to have to accuse him of either hypocrisy, avarice, or simple-mindedness, though in truth he could be as far removed from these qualities as any person could hope to be. If they cannot find anything to criticize him with personally, we often hear them saying that his children are impious.

Some novice students of Islamic knowledge seem to have no qualms about speaking ill of the scholars or of making light of their status and speaking of them as if they were fellow classmates. They say things like “So-and-so is of little consequence.” Or “He made a serious mistake.” Some of these students who possess neither an inkling of understanding in the field of Islamic Studies nor any idea of how to conduct themselves with the Qur’ân and Sunnah have the audacity to mention an opinion of one of these scholars that they disagree with and follow it up by reciting Allah’s words: “And they took their priests and monks as Lords beside Allah.” All too often, the opinion they deride in this dubious fashion is the correct one, or is at least one that is strongly supported by clear evidence from the Qur’ân and Sunnah.

After all this, they then have the gall to accuse the scholars further by saying: “They do not enjoin what is right nor forbid what is wrong.” If these scholars had been granted the facility to speak, indeed they would have spoken. It is from the Muslim public that the scholar draws his strength. If they abandon him or turn on him, he becomes like a man going into the fray unarmed.

The scholars of the Muslim Ummah are still in possession of a lot of goodness. No era ever goes by without there being those who establish Allah’s arguments on Earth. There are still a number of them – though maybe small – who give and who take nothing in return. They are as al-Dhahabî once said of Ibn Taymiyah: “As for the common people, he would devote himself to their service night and day, with his words and with his pen.”

Indeed, we as Muslims, take pride over all other nations of the Earth in that we are privileged to have among our numbers this matchless sort of people whom we refer to as our scholars. No other nation can honestly claim to have anyone quite like them. We must see to it that we as a Muslim Ummah – from our scholars to our students to our common folk – rally in their support, uphold their honor, and afford then the respect that they deserve.

I cannot deny that recent years have witnessed an increase of interest for our scholars and a renewed eagerness to take knowledge from them. You can find a class or lecture about Islamic matters attracting hundred or even thousands of listeners. However, things are not yet as they should be. There are still, unfortunately, more than enough of the ill-informed, who turn their tongues against our scholars with slander and dishonor.