Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations. May Allaah increase the honor of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ raise his rank, and protect his nation from what he fears for it.
It was related that one time a misguided person was brought to Haaroon Ar-Rasheed. The misguided person claimed to be a Muslim while he was an atheist. He wanted to do a a lot of harm. The caliph wanted to kill him; so, this deviant said to Haaroon Ar-Rasheed, “If you want to kill me, I’ll let you know that I spread about 4,000 false hadeeths among the people and if you kill me, I will not tell you which ones they are.” Haaroon Ar-Rasheed did not blink an eye. He said to this deviant, “Well, there are 2 scholars of hadeeth with us and they would know how to protect the people from this.” He had the deviant killed. Maa shaa’ Allaah.
This incident shows the importance of knowledge and the ones who preserve it (the scholars). The knowledge protects. The enemy of Islaam had nothing to hold over the heads of the Muslims. The mischief that he spread did not phase the Muslim ruler because there were scholars who would extinguish it. Moreover, this misguided individual could not even protect himself by using his treachery. Maa shaa’ Allaah. AlHamdulillaahi Rabbil ^Aalameen. And Allaah Knows best.
May Allaah increase us in knowledge and grant us victory and success in every way. Aameen.
