The Sciences of Legal Stipulations and Preaching

and this world; and the more skilled he is, the more thievish he is. As for the man who fears God in it, and keeps the registers for upright judges, and takes charge of the affairs of orphans and of the alms and the property of endowments and colleges, and renders the trust faithfully and fears God in it — such a man is praiseworthy and is rewarded for his intention; and we have seen a small company of that sort. Yes, and we have also seen wolves with clothes upon them. The debauched among the scribes is the last word in thieving, and the end of their affair is ruinous: the beating, the confiscation of property and poverty.

( The Science of Legal Stipulations (al-shurūṭ) )

The stipulations(1) are a good science, grounded in the revealed law. Whoever excels in it and holds himself to probity and scrupulous restraint lives praised and dies mourned; and whoever lives by it through guile and legal subterfuges and fabricated claims cannot escape disgrace in this world and detestation in the next, and such a man does not come to mastery. Say: “the enjoyment of this world is little, and the hereafter is better for him who fears God.”

( The Science of Preaching (al-waʻẓ) )

Preaching: an art in its own right. It needs a good share in learning, and it calls for a sound acquaintance with Qurʼānic exegesis (al-tafsīr) and for a large stock of the tales of the righteous — the jurists, the poor and the ascetics; and its equipment is godfearing and renunciation. So when you see the preacher desirous of this world and thin in religion, know that his preaching gets no further than men's ears. And how many a fluent preacher has drawn tears and worked upon those present in that hour, and then they rose up just as they had sat down! But whenever the preacher is like al-Ḥasan or like Shaykh ʻAbd al-Qādir, people profit by him.

And praise belongs to God, Lord of the worlds, and God bless our master Muḥammad and his family and his Companions and grant them peace. And with this the Exposure of the Debasement of Learning (Bayān zaghl al-ʻilm) is completed

— Notes —

[29] (1) It is the science of the drawing up of deeds, minutes, registers and legal instruments.