17. WARNING THE SCHOLARS FROM MINGLING WITH RULERS
I noticed that many scholars (‘ulama) and story tellers (qussas) rush to rulers whenever they endure a financial hardship in the hope that they may receive some monetary assistance though they know very well that they hardly fulfil the rights of the money they earn and that what they earn is often unlawful.
This is because most of them give away the tax money [paid by the lands conquered peacefully] to a poet instead of spending this money in its rightful purpose.
Sometimes they would pay a solider whose monthly wage was ten dinars the amount of ten thousand dinars.
And if he participates in a battle they would take away what should be spent on the army! Let alone the injustice that happens while dealing with people.
The first negative effect that the scholar experiences, is that he is deprived of benefiting from the knowledge he acquired. One pious man once saw a scholar stepping out the house of Yahya ibn Khalid al-Barmaki so he said, ‘I take refuge with Allah from a knowledge film) that brings no benefit.’
This is because he did not denounce the wrongdoings he saw and accepted to eat from their food that they earned unlawfully. The result of all that is that his heart becomes sealed and he becomes deprived from enjoying the sweetness of dealing with Allah, Exalted be He; hence no one can be guided through him! Worse still, his action can be a reason for misguiding people and preventing them from taking him as a role model. In fact, not only does he harm himself but he harms his ruler too because the ruler would say to himself, ‘If I was doing anything wrong, this scholar would not have accompanied me and he would have advised me.’
The harm exceeds to reach the common people because being in the company of the prince would give them the impression that the ruler is not doing anything wrong or that being in his company without denying any of his wrongdoing is permissible, or even to make them more inclined to this worldly life! Truly, there is no goodness in a life of pleasures that makes the path to the Hereafter narrow.
I sacrifice my life for those who endured their thirst for worldly pleasures and abandoned their desires during their life until they extinguished this thirst after death drinking the drink of pleasure. Indeed, their memories remain to be told to water the thirsty hearts, and to polish their rust.
Imam Ahmad was in need and so he wanted to trade and never accepted the help of any ruler.
Ibrahim al-Harbi used to eat peas and despite that when the Caliph al-Mutadid sent him one thousand dinars, he rejected them.
Bishr al-Hafi used to suffer hunger and when he was told to make soup of wheat he would say, ‘I fear Allah will ask me: ‘from where did you earn this wheat?”
The memory of these people remain as the time of their patience {sabr) is like the time of a short nap whereas the religion of their opponents becomes weak and the pleasures of those who sought concessions vanished along with their bodies.
O you who was guided to success, be patient and do not be jealous of those whose worldly life was bountiful because if you contemplate their bountiful life you will realise that it is tight and narrow in the eyes of religion. Hence, do not seek concessions through interpreting [texts and situations] because your lifetime in this world is short.
That said, when ‘the self {nafs) is disturbed due to its lack of patience {qila al-sabr), you should narrate to it the stories of the righteous ascetics (zuhhad). As that should discipline it, make it reflect and be ashamed of what it intends to do if it has any portion of determination and an awakened heart.
Exemplify also to it the case of ‘All Ibn al-Madini who accepted the gifted money of Ibn Abl Dawud, and the case of Ahmad who remained patient then observed the difference between the two persons and what news was reported about each and what each one is remembered with…Indeed, Ibn al-Madlnl will be in regret when Ahmad says to him, ‘I safeguarded my religion.’
(Source: al-Hafiz Abu’l-Faraj ibn al-jawzl [d. 597AH] “CAPTURED THOUGHTS being” a translation of his masterpiece ‘Sayd al-K hatir)
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