This is a very sacred gathering, the gathering of the Ulama. It is informal and it is to remind us of the responsibility of Ilm, which Allah has placed upon our shoulders. We have to speak about it amongst us.

Allah has given us two great responsibilities; one as Ulamaa, in that we have students under us and our responsibility is to teach them. The other is to deal with the general public we have to train and teach them as well. There are two different ways to go about this i.e. with the students and the people out there in general.

With respect to teaching the students, they are a trust (Amanat). Parents have sent them to us and they are like clean slates, whatever we instill in them, and teach them that is what will be written and recorded. So if we teach good then that is what will be written, or if it is bad then, that is what will be written in their hearts, because they are clean slates.

We should try to teach what we know in order to fulfill our Amaanat. If we do not fulfill the Amaanat, then that will be betrayal of that trust (Kiyaanat). So it is important we do research (Mutaalaah) and convey it to the students in such a way that they receive exactly what we have learnt in order not to betray Allah with this trust.

The Rasool (s.a.w.) spoke about Amaanat and he said that the one who does not have any Amaanat (doesn't keep the trust) he has no Imaan, but what it means is his Imaan is not Kaamiil, complete. Amaanat could be wealth that someone places in your trust and you betray it. Amaanat could also be in Kalaam, speech.

The Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "Whatever is said in a gathering, should remain in that gathering and you should not go out and mention it." So too the students are our Amaanat and we should try to nuture them to become just like us or take them even higher than us, if possible but at least let them become like us. This is with regards to the amount of knowledge we have otherwise the Amaanat, which has been entrusted upon us will be betrayed. Similarly students should be brought to such a level that when they go out whatever dawah, statements or claims they make out there they should be able support it with proof (Daleel).

If we do not do that then it will be deficient. When people hear daleel, they are forced to accept it and if we do not do this, then we are falling short. Allah says in the Holy Quraan that you should explain the Quraan and give the bayaan to people. The Prophet (s.a.w.) was commended to fulfill the Amaanat of giving the explanation of the Quraan to the people. That after understanding the Quraan, they will contemplate and good things will come out of it. So if they don't understand it, then what will they know? So first is conveying it, then they will understand it, and new, good things will come out of it. First of all, if a person does not understand the meaning of Allah's words then how can he bring out new sciences from it?

The Ulamaa through their meditation and pondering upon the Ayaats, many different types of sciences can be derived. The Quran has so much knowledge that one Aalim may understand it this way and bring forth one understanding, whereas another Aalim may understand it differently. As long as their meanings are not contradicting then we cannot say one is correct and the other is wrong. There is allowance that both meanings can be contained in the meaning of the Shariah, so both are correct. Based upon the amount of knowledge a person has then, Maasha Allah that is the amount of knowledge he can take out from the Quran. So this is what other Madhabs can do - understand the Quraan, and knowledge can be derived.

You would be aware of the Ahlul Kitaab (Jews and Christians), they have knowledge, books were revealed to them but there were so many changes in their original books that their knowledge became very little or none at all. So because of the changing of the Tawrah and the Injeel, the knowledge that could have benefited them was not there. Today, within Christianity there are two schools of thoughts, the Catholic School of Thought and the Protestant School of Thought. Unlike this, Islam has so many schools of thought in which the Ullama take out many masail (laws), unlike the Ahlul Kitaab.

One type of Ijtihaad is that done between truth and falsehood. This Ijtihaad is where the Mujtahid separates between truth and falsehood. Truth can be one and falsehood can be 1000. The Rasool (s.a.w.) said, The Mujtahid makes mistakes and sometimes he gets the correct thing. If he makes a mistake, he gets one reward and if he reaches the correct thing he gets two rewards. If the Mujtahideen makes mistakes, it is not between truth and falsehood so he will get rewards. The Ummah of Muhammad (s.a.w.) can benefit because of this knowledge. The Quraan is kept protected and different knowledge can be derived because of the firmness of the Ullama.

So, one school of thought is that which distinguishes between truth and falsehood i.e. between the Kufar and us. Another school of thought is that which is between a mistake and that which is correct (Sahih). If he makes a mistake he will still get rewards, so this shows that when one makes a mistake it does not take him out of the folds of Islam. Today, there are so many schools of thought that Muslims are not even tolerating each other. An Aalim should be of such a high level of understanding and courage, that he must tolerate the differences of other people. Of course, in Islam, we have many different sects; the Mu'tazillah, Kawaarij, etc. who are out of the folds of Islam. Then, there are some not really out of the folds of Islam. If sometimes, in doing Ijtihaad, a mistake is made, the person accepts it, then Alhamdulillah; he has done his job and fulfilled his responsibility. We should not take him out of the folds of Islam and call him a Kafir. But this is what takes place today when a brother makes Ijtihaad. (He is called a Kaafir). But an Aalim should have such understanding that he is able to tolerate the differences of other people.

So there are seven fundamentals of Islam (Iman Mufassal). They include believe in Allah, in the books sent down, angels, the messengers, in punishment and comfort in the grave etc. If a person has a little difference in some other matter (other than beliefs) then it is not part of deen. So we cannot call him a Kaafir. Naoozubillah. Today, people have fallen prey to this because of their Iktilaaf, they call each other Kaafirs. Fiqh and Madhab are things that are preferences not conveyances. It is not your job to go to the world and invite others to be a Hanafi or Shafi. Madhab is not something conveyed, it is a preference. It is something you accept. Some people take up fiqh and madhab as though it is deen, as though it is the real essence of Islam. They go about inviting people towards Madhab but it should not be like this.

The important thing is to convey Deen not Madhab and in Islam, there is no place for reasoning and intelligence. This is what Allah gave us. Intelligence comes with Ijtihaad and Madhab. We have different opinions. One of the biggest problems and fitnah in the Ummah today, is when we teach fiqh, we tend to teach Madhab, as though it is deen. We say, "If you don't follow this way then there is no success for you." Where as these are ways in which intelligence is used and deen is not based upon Madhab. Deen is something coming from Allah. It is important that when we do conveyance it should be done towards deen. Our success depends on Deen and if we need to speak about Madhab, speak about it as preference and do not say, "If you don't follow it, then Jannah is not yours." May Allah protect us from this.

So amongst the other religions that are present, Islam is such a Deen, that is a religion of balance. Amongst the other deens, there are excess or miserliness in one way or the other, but Islam is a well balanced deen. So in Islam, amongst the different scholars and schools of thought, the one whose Aqeeda is most balanced is that of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. This type of Aqeedah gives us balance in our knowledge, actions, and temperament. We're not too soft, nor too severe. There is balance in every facet of our lives.

Today, a common name is Deobandi. There is no Madhab called Deobandi but the Madhab of Deoband is like a spokesman or translation for Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah. So in fact, one who is a Deobandi belongs to Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah.

Mufti Shafi, was the Grand Mufti of Pakistan before he became a Mufti of Deoband. He was the student of the great honourable Maulana Anwar Shah Kashmari (R.A.), Allah has blessed Shah Sahib with such superb knowledge and memory, yet Mufti Shafi once quoted his teacher as saying: "Alas I have wasted my whole life." So Mufti Shafi was amazed at his remark and asked: "Hazrat, why did you say that for? Your whole life you spent behind deen." He said: "The reason I said that was because I always tried to give the Hanifi Madhab the edge in my teaching. I had always explained Hanifi to show how powerful it is in comparison to the others, which do not have such proofs with such strength. I should not have done this. When a person becomes an Aalim it is his job to convey Deen to the people and not Madhab."

So what is important is to have Imaan in the seven qualities, then he is a Muslim as long as his Aqeedah does not affect these seven things. If there is small mistakes in other things, we can't call him a kaafir.

So anyone today who belongs to Ahlul Hadeth or Ghair Mukallid etc. it is not befitting that he is called a Kafir, but say his explanation is wrong, and this is the correct thing. If he accepts it, then fine; if not, then Maashaa Allah, he is still a Mu'min. There are so many Ulama propagating Madhab in such a way that they claim our success belongs to that and if we do not hold on to this way then you are a kaafir. The Prophet (s.a.w.) used to tolerate kufars, so why can't we tolerate Muslims. An Aalim should be so liberal in his thinking that he should tolerate them and not call them Kafirs. Islam is an international deen. Allah says about the Rasool (s.a.w.). "Oh people, I am the messenger of Allah to all of you." We are international people, we have to tolerate people with different temperaments, styles, cultures etc. We, as Muslims, have to convey deen and understand that deen is international and that we have to be international persons and tolerate and deal with the people of the world.

This is also a reminder for myself. So when we speak amongst ourselves we have to remember the great responsibility which is upon us as a trust. We the Aa'lims have to take care of the whole world. This responsibility is not upon the common folk, but it is upon us. May Allah give us the Tawfeeq to understand this and to shoulder our responsibility and to propagate the deen to the best of our ability. It is not to become involved in these politics and divisions, nor to exceed the limits in explaining fiqh and Madhab. It is just a reminder that whatever I say that may be correct, is from Allah, and any mistakes I may have made is from myself. May Allah give you and me the Tawfeeq to practise Inshaa Allah and may Allah make us righteous Ulamas. Ameen.