Darul Uloom Trinidad & Tobago

Alhamdulillah all praises are for Allah, Magnified and Exalted be He who has conferred a great favor upon man by sending His complete and perfect way of life (to them) which is known as Islam.

Though this religion, Allah has thought man everything that is good and has asked him to practice upon it, and in a like manner, He has shown him everything that is bad and has asked him to refrain from it.

It was during the very blessed life of the Messenger of Allah (May Allah send peace and blessing upon Him) that Allah announced this glad tiding to the whole mankind, saying that the religion of Islam has been made perfect and complete and that this is the way of life which He Has chosen for them.

The religion of Islam being perfect, means that in all its teachings whether in beliefs or practices, there is perfection and completion. There is no belief which a Muslim is required to adopt, except that it is in Islam and there is no act of worship which a believer is required to practice except that it is in Islam.

In a like manner, mention has been made of every such thing which brings about the pleasure of Allah in words and actions and mention has also been made of those things which bring about the displeasure of Allah.

It is this perfect and complete way of life which has come from Allah and it is the same way of life which has been thought by the Prophet (S.A.S.).

Besides teaching the religion, the blessed Messenger of Allah (S.A.S.) also practically demonstrated it to his beloved Companions through his noble deeds and actions. The Companions (Sahabahs) seized this opportunity and learned every thing from him. They did not only learn the book of Allah, but along with this, they acquired the commentary, the message and every law which was contained in Allah’s Holy Book. In a similar manner, they did not only learn the Prophet’s blessed words, but with this, they understood the wisdom of his speech and statements, they understood the laws established from his speeches and actions, they learned his lifestyle and they understood the law and ruling regarding everything which he allowed or disallowed. They spent years in his companionship and some never separated themselves from him, instead, they sacrificed for the sake of learning and followed him wherever he went, so that they may not miss the opportunity of listening to him.

It is with such zeal and enthusiasm, they gathered a great wealth of knowledge and understanding which made them the great masters of Islamic learning. Their knowledge and understanding of this religion were endorsed by all others from among the blessed companions and they became the custodian of the ‘knowledge of Prophet hood’ who were revered, respected and looked upon as the great authorities of Islamic knowledge. Their true knowledge and understanding brought about accuracy in their judgments, it resulted in the soundness of their verdicts and most of all, it became a means of guidance to many who flocked around them.

They were seen as the beams of light whose radiant streaks dispelled the darkness of ignorance which had taken root in the hearts of men.

The knowledge they gained from the blessed Messenger of Allah (S.A.S.) was thus preserved and protected and was now about to be disseminated to the other generation known as the Tabi’oon. (The generation of Muslims after the Sahabahs (Companions)).

In this era also great personalities emerged, who, like their predecessors were fully committed and dedicated to the field of Islamic knowledge. They sacrificed greatly and undertook long and tiresome journeys for the sake of learning. They did not allow poverty and want to deprive them of this great gift, but instead, with meager means of food and shelter, they traveled through the scorching heat of the sun, through the desert and valleys and over the mountains moving from one city to another in search of the light of knowledge. Through this great and sacrifice, Allah blessed them with deep understanding and wisdom and chose them to be the disseminators of this knowledge to the succeeding generation.

In this way my dear readers, the knowledge and understanding of the perfect way of life, Al Islam came from one generation to the other until it has reached to the people of this era.

In every era, Allah Has chosen some of his servants to be the bearers of the knowledge of His perfect religion and Has granted them the wisdom and true understanding of the chosen way of life, so that through them, the religion of Islam would reach to the succeeding generation in its pristine purity.

This system has continued from the very beginning of Islam and will go on until the last day. Through this method, Muslims of every era can rest assure that they will always know the truth of the teachings of Islam and it will never disappear from the face of the earth.

However, although Islam in its pristine purity will always be alive, there will continuously be elements and false bearers who would try to distort the true teachings and will ultimately bring about misguidance to many.

In this respect, history has witnessed the emergence of many such groups and sects, whose main objective was to misrepresent the truth of Islam. However, through Allah’s help and the never ending effort of the true scholars, many of these sects died their natural death and were buried in the past.

However, although the names of many of these groups would have disappeared in the past, it should be noted that some of their thoughts, ideologies and tendencies are still present until today. It is therefore a matter of great importance that Muslims be aware of some of the ideologies and thoughts of these deviated sects (of the past), so that they may safeguard themselves against them.

Mufti Waseem Khan