Article

Imam Zahabi and the Quest for Learning

Nisar Ahmed
Director, Green Meadows Consulting

Khalil bin Ahmad Farahidi (718-791) has identified four different types of persons. (1) He who does not know and does not know that he does not know: he is a fool, shun him. (2) He who does not know and knows that he does not know: he is a child, teach him. (3) He who knows and does not know that he knows: he is asleep, wake him. (4) He who knows and knows that he knows; he is wise, follow him. (Arabic: rajulun yadri wa yadri annahu yadri, faasaluhu fazalikal aalim, faatbahu). It is this fourth category which has been referred to as man of knowledge. Mohammed Gayaman Turkmen, popularly known as, Shamsuddin Imam al-Zahabi (written as al-Dhahabi in the Arab world) has a great contribution to the world of knowledge. Infact, his repertoire of more than one hundred books makes one believe that he was a true aalim (man of knowledge) as described by Farahidi.

In his book Siyar Aalam al-Nubala (10:642) Zahabi defined knowledge in Islam (al-ilm) as "Not the profusion of narration, but a light which Allah casts into the heart. Its condition is follower ship (ittiba) and the flight away from egotism and innovation." Personal opinions reduce objectivity and innovation results in deviations. To check innovations based on personal opinions, Imam Zahabi has suggested the technique of multiple referencing. He has cited example of using multiple statements to cross-check innovation in propagation of knowledge. In his book Tazkirat al-Huffaz Zahabi quotes many instances of Caliph Hzt. Abu Bakr and Hzt. Umar not believing a hadith until it was confirmed and verified by more than one Companions (sahaba). He also mentions that Hzt. Ali the fourth Caliph did not believe a hadith until its narrator took an oath of having personally heard it from the Prophet (peace be upon him).

In his book Bayan Zaghl al-Ilm wa al-Talab, Imam Zahabi deals with various aspects of learning in great detail. Primarily his learning methodology can be divided into three major parts. For the sake of postulating, these parts have been given specific names by this author.

Part 1 – Polygonal Learning – A polygon is a geometric figure with equal sides. It is closed like a circle, yet each of its side is clearly identifiable. All these sides are connected with each other to form a specific figure. The figure and its individual sides are interdependent on each other. For a specific figure a certain number of sides are necessary. On the other hand, if one of the sides is removed, the figure changes its basic shape. A four sided figure is square; a five sided figure is pentagon, and so on. A hexadecagon is a figure having sixteen equal sides. In his book Zaghl al-Ilm Zahabi has dealt with sixteen subjects like hadith learning, four schools of Islamic knowledge, logic, administration, mathematics, etc. The very fact that a book on hadith learning deals with multiple subjects is a proof that Zahabi believed that knowledge can not exist in isolation. For example hadith interpretation and its application in daily life would require a logical connect. Therefore, one should study logic. Logic, in turn, is closely connected with mathematics. Therefore, in order to have an all round knowledge, which this author prefers to call Polygonal Learning, interconnections between subjects have to be identified and those subjects need to be studied and taught.

Part 2 – Inward Looking – In Turkmen folklore there is a proverb: "Bread is the king of everything”. Children are inculcated a very respectful attitude towards çorek (bread): if you drop even a tiny piece of it, you should pick it up immediately and put it aside to avoid trampling over bread. Once a child grows up internalizing this teaching he actually learns not to waste food. Deep knowledge has to be rooted in the internal core of personality.

Both a barber and a tailor are trained to use a pair of scissors. Suppose a barber was now required to be retrained to work as a tailor. The first thing which the barber will have to learn is: how to hold the scissors. Because, the skill of holding the scissors is different for each occupation. What was a barber’s strength in holding his scissors will now be his biggest weakness in cutting the cloth. If the barber fails to recognize this change, and work on his weakness, he can not become a skillful tailor. Imam Zahabi recommends that one should be inward looking to eliminate fallacies or personal biases while learning. He says, “Blessed is he whose fault diverts him from the faults of others! Damned is he whom others divert from his own faults! How long will you look at the motes in the eye of your brother, forgetting the stumps in your own?” Recognizing one’s shortcomings and working towards bridging the knowledge gap is a pious activity for him. He clearly exhorts us to avoid quoting others’ mistakes and poor knowledge to camouflage our shortcoming. Once a man recognizes his shortcomings and earnestly tries to learn from others, he is like a child as described by Farahidi as mentioned under (2) in the beginning of this paper. The more you seek the better you become.

Part 3 – Seeking Authentication – A Turkmen proverb is: “He who leaves his country will weep for seven years. He who leaves his tribe will weep for a lifetime”. Tribe acts like an important advisory council to people. They keep people on the right track and facilitate learning. If the advisors are bad, the person falters. Many powerful empires have been lost due to incompetent advisors who surrounded the ruler.

“Too much talk without proof hardens hearts”, said Zahabi in Zaghl al-Ilm. He further says that authenticity is lost due to people with limited knowledge surrounding us. One has to make specific efforts to seek multiple opinions to improve the quality of one’s knowledge. Warning against such pitfalls, Zahabi says, “Your followers help you and fight for you in word and deed but are your secret enemies in their hearts!...How long will you praise yourself while disparaging the Ulema (men of knowledge) and pursuing other people's weaknesses?” In our quest to look for authentication we will have both give and seek opinion. While seeking opinion is an exercise in suppressing the self yet it does not throw an external challenge. It is an internal process. On the other hand giving unbiased opinions has an external dimension to it. You may be criticized, ridiculed, or even censured. This may keep us away from speaking the truth. Imam Zahabi, in his ‘advice to Ibn Timmayya’ quoted in Bayan Zaghl al-Ilm wa al-Talab has a remedy for this too, “I will be content if you curse me in public as long as you heed my words in private.” So, as long as a teacher knows that peoples’ quest for knowledge is moving in the right direction, he shall not get perturbed by the outward criticism by them.

In conclusion, Imam Zahabi has laid very firm foundation for learning through his writings. The process of learning for him is both internal as well as external. The external part of this equation is centered around an aalim - a true master. And a true master can not be explained better than already done by Mahmud Kashgalry: