“By wisdom and good exhortation call (people) to the path of your Lord. And discuss with them in the best way” An-Nahl (The Bees. S125)
Introduction by the author
All praise belongs to Allah.
I wrote this blessed book in the year 1408 A.H., when Muslims - the praise belongs to Allah - were experiencing a period of awakening and return to religious sciences which made their faces shine with joy. This awakening continues to activate - evolving towards its highest degree of development and its full blossoming - in the hearts of the young people of this community, its glory and the blood which renews its existence.
Indeed, we see armies of young people embarking one after the other, with enthusiastic enthusiasm, into the various fields of science; overloaded by its weight, they drink, one drop after another from its abundant sources. They are ambitious, they have acquired knowledge (in religious science), and the breadth of their knowledge is astonishing, not to mention that they study with fervor and deepen their research in all areas, including the most subtle questions.
There is no doubt that all these reasons arouse victorious joy among Muslims.
Glory and purity to Him who revives hearts and causes them to die. Despite everything, it is essential that this blessed core [of students] be guided and supervised at every stage of their journey, to ensure that everything is done to keep them away from pitfalls and prevent them from stumbling upon during his quest [for knowledge] and its application into practice. For example, preventing them from following different intellectual, dogmatic, moral, sectarian currents of thought, or even from adhering to partisanship and activism. With this in mind, I have made available to them [another], epistle on the subject of Ta 'aloum (i.e. claiming to have knowledge), which reveals the characteristics of the [pseudo-students] who have infiltrated the ranks serious and sincere students. This is to prevent "pseudo-students" from slowing down the momentum [of serious students], destroying their efforts, diverting them from their gathering on the path of religious studies, or gaining the upper hand over them without question. They don't realize it. Today, your brother (i.e. Sheikh Bakr) comes to your aid. He takes you by the hand, and puts at your disposal an epistle which contains a detailed description of the characteristics with which you must beautify yourself.
Here I am ! I place the tip of my pen on the paper. Contemplate what I am taking care to write for you, may Allah make people rejoice at the sight of you. Many religious texts confirm the fact that adorning oneself with noble behavior, exemplary morality, good manners and pious conduct is the characteristic of the people of Islam, and that only knowledge can be obtained - who is the most precious pearl on the crown of our purified legislation - he who adorns himself with his behaviors and abandons that which nullifies them. For this reason, scholars have taken a very close interest in it. They undertook much research on this subject, and also advised and reminded [people to adorn themselves with these praiseworthy behaviors]. They wrote writings dealing only with this subject, either in a general way, encompassing all the sciences, or by targeting a particular theme, such as the behavior of the one who memorized the Koran, the behavior of the hadith scholar, the behavior of the Moufti [the one who issues legal opinions “Fatàwà”], the behavior of the judge, the behavior of the “Mouhtasiba” [the one who is responsible for public affairs, and for ordering what is appropriate]. etc. The subject addressed here concerns the general behaviors essential for anyone wishing to move towards religious studies.
