Al-Uqud al-Durriyya - Ibn Abd al-Hadi - (الكتاب/379)

And the proof of that is as follows: the one who is in the right—the seeker of guidance and truth—presents himself (1) to whoever criticized him for the deed in question, either by courteously posing a question or by gently seeking clarification (2) regarding the shortcoming the critic observed or heard about. Should he discover that the matter is grounded in ijtihad, a considered opinion, or a sound proof, he is content with that and remains silent, never divulging the incident to others unless he can accompany his report with the very ijtihad, opinion, or proof he found, thereby closing any gap.

Such a person is a seeker of guidance, a loving and sincere well-wisher (3) who pursues the truth and seeks to straighten his teacher’s deviation by informing him and discreetly hinting at it (4), just as the teacher seeks to straighten him. One of the Rightly Guided Caliphs—his name escapes me—said, “If I become crooked, then straighten me” (5).

This is a binding duty between teacher and student: the teacher seeks to establish the proof (6) against himself so that he may be corrected by it; he even suspects his own soul at times and learns of his states through others, driven by his fairness, love of truth, and wariness of falsehood—exactly as the disciple seeks such correction from his shaykh to mend whatever is unsound in deeds and words.

(1) The base manuscript reads: “yatlubu” (he seeks). (2) F, K, and T read: “bi-gharad” (for a motive). (3) In the base manuscript the word appears with the nominative ending. (4) Variant readings: F has “taghridihi,” while K has “wa-tafwidihi” (and his delegation). (5) The speaker is Abu Bakr al-Siddiq—may Allah be pleased with him—in his well-known sermon on assuming the caliphate. The report is recorded by al-Bazzar in his Musnad, no. 100; al-Tabarani in al-Awsat, no. 8597; and others through several chains. (6) F, K, and T read: “al-haqq” (the truth).

وبرهانُ ذلك: أنَّ المحقّ طالب (١) الهدى والحقّ يعرض (٢) عند من أنكر عليه ذلك الفعل الذي أنكره، إمّا بصيغة السؤال أو الاستفهام بالتلطُّف عن ذلك النقص الذي رآه فيه، أو بلغه عنه. فإن وجد هناك اجتهادًا أو رأيًا أو حُجَّةً، قنع بذلك وأمسك، ولم يُفشِ ذلك إلى غيره، إلا مع إقامة ما بيَّنه من الاجتهاد أو الرأي أو الحجَّة، ليَسُدَّ الخلل بذلك. فمثل هذا يكون طالبَ هدًى، مُحبًّا ناصحًا (٣)، يطلبُ الحقَّ، ويرومُ تقويم أستاذه عن انحرافه، بتعريفه وتعريضه (٤)، كما يرومُ أستاذُه تقويمَه. كما قال بعضُ الخلفاء الراشدين ــ ولا يحضرني اسمه ــ: إذا اعوججْتُ فقوِّموني (٥). فهذا حقٌّ واجب بين الأستاذ والطالب، فإنَّ الأستاذ يطلبُ إقامة الحجّة (٦) على نفسه ليقوّم به، ويتَّهم نفسَه أحيانًا، ويتعرَّف أحوالَه من غيره، مما عنده من النَّصَفَة وطلب الحقّ، والحذر من الباطل، كما يطلب المريد ذلك من شيخه من التقويم، وإصلاح الفاسد من الأعمال والأقوال.

(١) الأصل: «يطلب». (٢) (ف، ك، ط): «بغرض». (٣) الأصل بالرفع. (٤) (ف): «تغريضه»، (ك): «وتفويضه». (٥) هو أبو بكر الصديق ﵁ في خطبته المشهورة حين توليه الخلافة. أخرجه البزار في «مسنده» (١٠٠)، والطبراني في «الأوسط» (٨٥٩٧)، وغيرهم من طرق عنه. (٦) (ف، ك، ط): «الحقّ».