As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Can you please tell us a little about your Islamic education.Have you gone to Islamic schools to become a scholar and if so, which school? How much schooling have you had on Islam. Are you a mufti or an alim? Are you a hafiz?

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Our qualifications

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.  

My dear and Beloved Sister in Islam, Allah is my witness, I have never been through a formal ‘Islamic Education’ in any Islamic school or any Islamic university, neither do I ever claim that I am a ‘scholar’, neither am I an ‘aalim’, nor a ‘mufti’, nor a ‘hafiz’!!!   Allah is my witness, and I am not at all ashamed to admit the truth that I am no more than a ‘pre-kindergarten’ student of this vast ocean of knowledge called ‘Al-Islam’!

My beloved Sister, the one and only reason we, the brothers and sisters who moderate this humle forum, undertook this heavy responsibility to share the Truth of the Quran and Sunnah with anyone who is willing to listen to good caution, is to earn nothing but the Pleasure and Good Will of the Lord Most Merciful.  If our humble and modest efforts have helped even one brother or sister get closer to Allah and His Deen of Truth, then we would consider ourselves indeed fortunate to have been given this opportunity by the Lord Most Merciful to serve in His Cause. 

My beloved Sister, we might not have any formal qualifications, but the one qualification which we hope to acquire and be blessed with is the sincere love of Allah and His Messenger (saws), and the earnest fear of that Inevitable Day when every soul will be brought in the Presence of the Lord Most Majestic to give a full accounting of their deeds.   We hope, beg, and pray the Merciful Lord  accepts our humble and weak efforts,  forgives us our shortcomings,  and save you, us,  and all the believers from the torment of the Hell Fire.  Ameen.

Beloved Sister in Islam, I only want to add here that for every single question that is asked on the forum by our respected brothers and sisters, we consult some amongst the very best available and sincere God-fearing and pious scholars, and then and only then, do we formulate an answer to the question being asked.  Allah is my witness, some amongst the scholar/scholars being consulted are amongst the most qualified and well-known names amongst the current generation, who have selflessly and tirelessly given me endless hours of their time, regardless of the day and the night in their effort to spread the Truth of the Quran and the Sunnah to anyone who is willing to listen to good caution.   Allah is my witness, none of them have ever demanded or taken even a cent for their tireless efforts, nor any recognition, nor any reward or even thanks….for they insist on their anonymity and seek to gain their reward from none except their Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful.  It is my heartfelt prayer that Allah Subhanah accept their sincere striving in His Cause, and reward them generously for their tireless and selfless efforts in sharing their knowledge in spreading the Truth from the Quran and the Sunnah, and grant each one of them an honorable place amongst the Truthful and the Righteous in the life of the Hereafter.  Ameen.  Thumma Ameen.

My beloved Sister, although I was literally forced to attach my first name on this humble forum by the pious and God-Fearing brothers who initiated and moderate this forum, Allah is my witness, I do not deserve this recognition in the least.  I am neither a writer, nor a scholar, nor do I even have good command over the English language…..but Allah Subhanah, in His Sublime Mercy and Grace blessed me with this opportunity to serve in His Cause as the one who only translates and co-ordinates the answers I receive from the eminent scholars.  Allah Alone Knows best if anyone has benefited from this humble forum; but Allah is my witness, I have invaluably benefited from my interaction with the respected brothers and sisters who pose the questions on this forum and from my consultation with such eminent and knowledgeable scholars who strive to guide them in light of the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah.  I happen to be the humble and worthless stone which by accident is placed in the middle of two clear running waters, being cleansed for no other reason than for being accidentally placed in that particular position!

My dear and beloved sister in Islam, you have absolutely every right to ask the question regarding our qualifications and I beg you not to take this answer as a vague or round-about way of dodging your question; for I have been asked and instructed by the brothers and sisters who moderate this forum and by the brother scholars never to disclose their names or their identities, for they sincerely seek no material gain or reward or even an iota of recognition for their tireless and selfless efforts in this Noble Cause of Allah Subhanah; they intend not to dilute their reward with their Lord Most Gracious, Most Merciful.   May Allah Subhanah bless, reward, guide, help and have Mercy on all these anonymous brothers and sisters who voluntarily spend their time, effort and means in striving to do their insignificant bit in spreading the Truth of the Quran and the Sunnah to all who are willing to listen to good caution.  May Allah Subhanah be Pleased with them and increase their rewards when they ultimately return back to His Majestic Presence.  Ameen.

In conclusion, I would like to end with these glad tidings from the authentic narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws) whereby he (saws) declared the rewards of those who strive to seek, learn, acquire and gain this knowledge of Truth from the Quran and the Sunnah:

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 218         Narrated by Anas ibn Malik

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘The seeking of knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim.’

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 256         Narrated by Abdullah ibn Abbas

Acquiring knowledge in company for an hour in the night is better than spending the whole night in (supererogatory) prayer.

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 249         Narrated by Al-Hasan al-Basri

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘He whom death overtakes while he is engaged in acquiring knowledge with a view to reviving Islam with the help of it, there will be one degree between him and the Prophets in Paradise.’

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6518     Narrated by Abu Hurayrah

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘He who alleviates the suffering of a brother from the affections of the world, Allah will alleviate his affections from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection. He who finds relief for one who is hard pressed, Allah will make things easy for him in the Hereafter, and he who conceals (the faults) of a Muslim, Allah would conceal his faults in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah is at the back of a servant so long as the servant is at the back of his brother.  He who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah will make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him and those persons who assemble in one of the houses of Allah (mosques), recite the Book of Allah and learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves). There will descend upon them tranquillity, mercy will cover them, the angels will surround them and Allah will mention them in the presence of those near Him.’

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan