Documents of the Right Word

given the title Islâmda Birlik (Unity in Islam), and published in
Istanbul in 1332 [A.D. 1914]. In this book of his he followed his
teacher’s example, attacked the four Madh-habs of the Ahl assunna
and, thinking that the Madh-habs originated from
differences of opinions and representing the Madh-habs’ differring
methods and conditions as bigotted controversies, went so far in
aberration that he accused them of “deranging Islam’s unity.” This
attitude of his means to deride millions of true Muslims who have
been imitating one of the four Madh-habs for fourteen hundred
years, and to turn away from Islam and look for the ways of coping
with the time’s requirements in changing Islam and îmân. What is
common about these religion reformers is that they represent
themselves as highly intellectual Islamic scholars who have
comprehended real Islam perfectly and are at the same time quite
aware of the time’s requirements, while calling those truely pious
Muslims who have read and learned Islam’s books and who have
been following scholars of Ahl as-sunna praised in the hadîth-isherîf,
“The best of times is their time,” ‘mobbish-minded
imitators’. That these religion reformers are vulgarly ignorant
people who are quite unaware of Islam’s credal and technical
teachings is completely blatant in their own oral and written
statements. To clarify this point, let us see what our Prophet ‘sall-
Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’ states in the following hadîth-i-sherîfs:
“The highest people are scholars with îmân.” “Religious scholars
are Prophets’ inheritors.” “Knowledge pertaining to heart is one
of the secrets belonging to Allah.” “Scholars’ sleep is a worship.”
“Respect my Ummat’s scholars! They are stars of the earth.”
“Scholars will intercede (for sinful Muslims) in the Hereafter.”
“Scholars of fiqh are valuable. It is a worship to be in their
company.” “A scholar among his disciples is like a Prophet among
his Ummat.” Who do these hadîth-i-sherîfs praise; scholars of Ahl
as-sunna, who have been teaching Islam for fourteen hundred
years, or Abdoh and his disciples, who have appeared recently?
This question also is answered by our master, the Messenger of
Allah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa sallam’: “Every century will be worse
than the one previous to itself. Thus they will be all the worse by
the end of the world.” “As the end of the world draws near, men
of religion will be worse and more putrid than a donkey’s carrion.”
These hadîth-i-sherîfs are written in the abridged version of
Tezkira-i-Qurtubî. As it is unanimously stated by all the Islamic
scholars praised and lauded by Rasûlullah ‘sall-Allâhu alaihi wa
sallam’ and confirmed by all the Awliyâ, the only group of
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