and accord them their proper place. It has been narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He is not one of us who does not show mercy to our young, honor our elders, and recognize [the right] due to the scholar among us.”1

Another manifestation of failing to recognize the worth of the people of knowledge and preserve their standing is the claim that the scholars of the Muslim nation, the jurists of the faith, and those vested with authority in it understand nothing beyond the rulings concerning menstruation and postpartum bleeding. This results in disparaging them, diminishing their standing, and turning people away from benefiting from them. It is a corrupt claim and a dangerous statement that arose long ago among the proponents of religious innovation and the followers of their desires—and every people has an heir. Those who make this claim generally follow one of two orientations:

— Either a Sufi orientation that uses this claim to disparage knowledge and diminish its standing, so as ultimately to prefer worship and remembrance over it. Some of them may cite in support of this the story told about Rābia al-Adawiyya: she once came to Jerusalem at night and prayed until dawn, while nearby was a house in which a jurist continued reviewing the chapter on menstruation until dawn. When morning came, Rābia said to him: “You there! Those journeying to their Lord have arrived, while you remain preoccupied with women’s menstruation?” 2. Hence, such people have persistently discouraged the pursuit of knowledge, warned against it, and counted it among the afflictions, as one of them said: “Three things are a bane to the spiritual aspirant: marriage, recording hadith, and travel.”