Exemplary conduct in preaching

Summary

Sha'rawi holds that words alone are not enough in preaching, because people see the deed before they hear the word, that a religious scholar has more claim to exemplary conduct than others, and that Islam spread by conduct before it spread by method ¹ ³. See al-Saff 2 and Fussilat 33.

Contradiction

He says that one who forbids wrong and does it is deceitful, and that when word is separated from conduct the call is lost ². He cites the Prophet ﷺ's practice of being first to do what he commanded his companions to do ³.

Umar and his household

He relates that when Umar wanted to regulate a matter, he gathered his family and relatives and announced what he would command, and that whoever opposed would be made an example. He held that this closed the door of discord ³.

The scholar of religion

He holds that in worldly sciences no one asks a chemist for exemplary conduct, but that a scholar of religion who drinks wine falls in the eyes of people and is no longer listened to ³.

Spread through conduct

He holds that Islam spread through conduct, gives the example of merchants of good character who spread Islam in China, and holds that the largest number who converted did so through an exemplary way of life ³.

Not yet checked

This is Sha'rawi's reading of preaching. The China example has not been checked against historical sources, no study of the spread is set out here, and no other tradition's view of the scholar's role is set out. Not yet checked.

Opinions on the question

The question: Is a religious scholar held to a standard that other scholars are not?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

The religious scholar must be an example because people watch him, and Islam spread through conduct

Sha'rawi holds that people watch the conduct of a religious scholar, and that Islam spread through conduct before knowledge. He gives the example of merchants of good character who spread Islam in China, and cites the verse that joins the call to God with righteous action {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan p.304} {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan p.305}.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (2)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

Studies of the spread of Islam through trade and conduct are not yet added

The example of China that Sha'rawi gives has not been checked against historical sources, and no study of the spread is set out here; it needs named sources.

Other viewOther opinion

Other traditions on the role of the scholar are not yet added

Other traditions on the scholar's responsibility are not set out here and are not checked.

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)

Paying a debt in the form owed is obligatory by consensus. A debt due now must be paid on demand when the debtor can pay; a deferred debt is not due before its term. Payment is made in like items, with value owed where there is no like; a better payment is allowed when unconditioned. Remission, gift, assignment, set-off and settlement take the place of payment. A solvent debtor who refuses is compelled, imprisoned and his apparent property sold; the majority hold that a bankrupt is put under interdiction and his property divided among creditors, against Abu Hanifa. The insolvent is given respite, and his debt may be paid from zakat if he borrowed for himself in a lawful matter. A dead person's debt attaches to his estate and takes precedence over bequests and inheritance.