Download PDF: [S] His Respect for Imam Yusuf (Islamic story)

Allama Zaahid Al Kautheri – may Allah be pleased with him – records in his treatise the story of Ebrahim bin Al Jarrah – may Allah be pleased with him  – who mentions the following incident. He narrates:

 

One day I decided to travel to Basrah to seek further knowledge. I then decided to approach Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Abu Yusuf – may Allah be pleased with him – to ask his advice about whose classes I should join. The great Imam treated me very kindly and advised me to join the classes of Hammad bin Zaid who is a very eminent scholar and teacher.

 

I then travelled to Basrah and joined the classes of this scholar. However, there was something that shocked me and that was that whenever Hammad bin Zaid used to mention Hadrat Imam Abu Yusuf – may Allah be pleased with him, he never spoke good about him. In other words, his words were not words of respect. Obviously, I was extremely upset but what could I do.

 

One day, while I sitting in the class, a female appeared and she requested Hammad bin Zaid to record a Title Deed for her. When Hammad bin Zaid heard this, he was concerned because he did not want to disturb the classes. In other words, he was caught inbetween the request of this female and whether to continue his lessons. I then perceived the confusion which he was suffering from and I said to him, “Hadrat! Please tell the lady to give me the piece of paper, I will record the Title Deed for her and you can continue with the lessons.”

 

The lady then gave me the piece of paper and I prepared the Title Deed for her. He wanted to stop the lessons so that I do not miss out but I mentioned that he could continue with the lessons. After I had completed the preparation of the Title Deed, I showed it to him so that he could go through it. He was very pleased when he saw what I had written and then asked me, “O Ebrahim! Where did you attain such knowledge from?” I replied, “I acquired knowledge from that person who is always spoken of in a bad manner in your class.”

 

I also informed him that when I was preparing to come to Basrah, the same person whom he speaks badly about was the person who advised me to join his classes. Obviously, but this time, he was highly embarrassed and asked me who I was speaking about. I then mentioned that I was speaking about Imam Abu Yusuf – may Allah be pleased with him. When he heard the name of the great Imam, by now the embarrassment was clearly visible on his face. Thereafter, whenever he mentioned the name of the great Imam, he always spoke very highly of him.

 

From this incident, there are few lessons which we acquire.

 

  1. The people of true knowledge had a great amount of respect for Hadrat Sayyiduna Imam Abu Yusuf – may Allah be pleased with him – and his immense knowledge.
  2. At the same time, this student made sure that he did not openly insult his teacher but managed to portray the truth in a very humble and sincere manner.

 

This also proves that when we wish to present a point, we should use wisdom and tact. Yes, when a person openly insults the beliefs of the Ahle Sunnah wa Jamaah, then we should not spare the whip. (Ulama Ahnaaf)