Two Categories of People

It is commonly witnessed that two categories of people experience problems in regard to the acquisition of knowledge. The first category of people, are those who are hasty in disseminating the information they receive whether obtained through the internet, radio stations or self-study. They are totally disconcerned about verifying the authenticity of the information or fully comprehending it in its correct perspective. Generally mass confusion is created amongst the general public on account of the hastiness of this category.

Story of a scholar

There was once a scholar who forbade his neighbours from using his water to irrigate their gardens. When questioned regarding this, he presented the following Hadith of Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam) in substantiation:

It is not permissible for one who believes in Allah and the Last Day to irrigate someone else’s crop with his own water.

The Hadith actually implies that, if someone receives a pregnant captive woman in booty, then he is prohibited from copulating with her until she gives birth.

The serious blunder caused by the scholar was squarely due to not understanding the Hadith in its correct perspective.

The second category of people, are those who remain satisfied and content with the little knowledge they possess. They do not perceive the need to increase their knowledge of Deen, nor to refer to the Ulama. They feel quite complacent with the basic knowledge they have. Furthermore, due to their knowledge being unsound and incomplete, they perpetually remain in doubt.