A trait Adopted by Some of The People in Our Era from the Pre-Islamic People of Ignorance

Imaam Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhaab stated in Masaa’ilil Jaahiliyyah: They (People of the Era of Pre-Islamic Ignorance) accused the People of the Religion of having little understanding and Poor Memory.  They utilized the argument to determine the falsity of a religion-that the people who followed it had little understanding and poor memory, as Allaah stated that the said:  And they (too) followed you (i.e. Nooh) without thinking.’[11:27]

Sheikh Saaleh Al Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) commented on the above saying:

Regarding what Allaah has stated about the people of Nooh and their saying: ‘And they (too) followed you without thinking.’[11:27] that is: The weak ones- ‘those who followed without thinking’, who possess no understanding.

So they (people of the Pre-Islamic period of ignorance) reviled the followers of the Messengers that they possess neither understanding nor are they well versed in the affairs, and they do not possess far-sightedness.  This is what many amongst those who have strayed from the right course and the enemies of Allaah brag about today.  They make fun of the Muslims and their scholars, that they neither possess understanding nor far-sightedness.  They seek to diminish the scholars with this calumny despite the fact that the scholars of the Muslims are people of clear sightedness and cognizance because they examine (affairs) with the guidance of Allaah. They command what Allaah has commanded and forbid what Allaah has forbidden.

And there is no doubt that the steadfast and righteous scholars are the best people after the Messengers (alayhimus-salaatu-was-salaam).  The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like that of the moon over all the stars.  Therefore, none diminishes the scholars and charges them with short-sightedness and lack of understanding, except one who has similarities with the people of Jaahiliyyah and the people of Nooh, who described the followers of the Messengers with this description, in order to drive the people away from them.

This (i.e. accusing the scholars of short sightedness and lack of understanding) is uttered from the tongues of some of the people today.  They say: ‘’these scholars are ‘ulamaa’u hayd wan- nifaas’ (i.e. scholars whose knowledge is limited to the rulings pertaining to menstruation and postnatal bleeding); and that they are ‘ulamaa’u ahkaamul Istijmaar’ [scholars whose knowledge is limited to the rulings pertaining to istijmaar (i.e. the use of dry objects such as stones, tissue etc, to clean oneself after using the toilet], and that they are ‘ulamaa’u juz-iyyaat’ (i.e. scholars who only possess knowledge of some affairs or whose knowledge is restricted to some affairs), and that they do not possess knowledge of current affairs.  And the knowledge of current affairs (according to these ones that accuse and revile the scholars) is the affairs of politics and revolt against the Muslim rulers.

[Source: Sharh Masaa’ilil Jaahiliyya, pages 78-79; by Sheikh Saaleh Al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him]