Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends beloved by Allah, in the intellectual treasury of Islam, knowledge is not merely a commodity of information that can be understood instantly or learned autodidactically without guidance. An external barrier that today poses a major challenge in many regions is the lack of specialized instructors for certain fundamental subjects—such as qualified Arabic language teachers, experts in ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān, and scholars of classical Islamic studies (turāth). Scientifically, this scarcity of specific experts leads to the shallowing of religious understanding at the grassroots level, because revealed texts are often interpreted without robust methodological tools. In Islamic epistemology, specialization in knowledge is highly respected. Not everyone has the capacity to delve into the depths of the language and the instrumental sciences. Therefore, the presence of specialized teachers who master these specific fields is a fortress that safeguards the purity of the ummah’s understanding from deviation.
Allah SWT indicates the importance of referring to experts who have deep specialization in their fields:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا قَبْلَكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“And We sent not before you except men to whom We revealed, so ask the people of knowledge if you do not know.” (QS. Al-Anbiyā’: 7)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also issued a scientific warning about the social danger threatening the existence of knowledge if the specialist scholars who hold the keys to classical Islamic sciences pass away without producing successors:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ انْتِزَاعًا يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنْ الْعِبَادِ وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ بِقَبْضِ الْعُلَمَاءِ حَتَّى إِذَا
لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالًا فَسُئِلُوا فَأَفْتَوْا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا
“Indeed, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it away from the hearts of people, but He takes it away by the death of the scholars, until when no scholar remains, people will take ignorant leaders. When they are asked, they will give fatwas without knowledge, so they go astray and lead others astray.” (HR. Bukhārī)
2. Lessons and Message
Let us picture for a moment the atmosphere in a madrasah or pesantren in a remote region. There, a group of gifted students with remarkable intelligence sit together. On their wooden desks lie classical books inherited from past scholars—unvoweled texts that contain pearls of law, beautiful Arabic literature, and the magnificent secrets of ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. The children’s eyes sparkle, their fingers touch the pages with deep reverence. Yet deep sorrow emerges when the classroom is opened; there is not a single ustādh capable of guiding them to read those verses of high Arabic and advanced grammar. The specialized teacher they long for never arrives due to limited access and facilities. Those noble books end up stored in cabinets, collecting dust, eaten by termites—along with the extinguishing of those children’s dreams to become defenders of the religion in the future. How tragic it is when the heritage of a civilization halts merely because there is no tongue able to translate it for the younger generation. This scarcity of specialized teachers for classical study material is like a “Modern Pharmacy Fully Stocked in a Hospital, but Without a Single Pharmacist or Specialist Who Can Read Its Arabic Prescriptions.” The warehouse is full of medicine for chronic diseases—like the books of turāth and ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān. But because there is no one with the expertise to understand the measurements, dosages, and how to compound them, the medicines remain tightly locked away. The patients outside remain sick, or if they recklessly take medicine at random without specialized expertise, the remedy that should heal instead turns into a dangerous poison. We must not merely be proud of having stacks of books or a magnificent digital library. The greatest urgency for the ummah today is to fund, produce, and distribute these _“spiritual pharmacists”_—specialist teachers of Arabic and classical studies—so that these pearls of knowledge can be unpacked and served as the medicine of life for society. Because of the scarcity of authoritative Arabic and ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān teachers, a peculiar phenomenon has emerged today. There are people armed only with an instant digital dictionary app who confidently dissect Qur’anic verses and criticize the fatwas of madhhab scholars. When reading Arabic text, a fathah is read as a dammah, the subject is swapped with the object, and the meaning flips 180 degrees. When corrected by a linguist, he casually replies, “Well, what matters is my good intention to convey da‘wah!” This is a bitter joke. Having good intentions is obligatory, but teaching the instrumental sciences without specialized expertise is recklessness. It is like someone who has never studied anatomy yet boldly holds a scalpel in an operating room relying on a short tutorial video, then says to his patient, “Don’t worry, sir, what matters is my sincere intention to heal you!” Instead of recovering, the patient goes straight to the next life!
3. Conclusion and Closing
Brothers and sisters, the external barrier of lacking specialized teachers for foundational classical Islamic subjects is a yellow light for the continuity of the ummah’s civilization. We cannot allow this scarcity to continue. Strategic movement is needed—whether through special scholarships for the cadre-building of Arabic and ‘Ulūm al-Qur’ān experts, or through providing proper incentives and facilities so that these scholars are willing to serve in areas in need. Studying and providing teachers of these instrumental sciences is not merely a curriculum supplement; it is the lifeline that preserves the purity of the revealed text so that it remains grounded and saves future generations
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
