🌱 WORDS OF WISDOM: LESSONS FOR THE STUDENT OF KNOWLEDGE — PART TWO | MADRASA IBN ʿABBĀS 🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦①
مَوْتُ الْعَالِمِ مَوْتُ الْعَالَمِ
“The death of a scholar is the death of a world.”
🌱 **Reflection:** The departure of a scholar is not merely the loss of an individual. It can mean the loss of knowledge, experience, wisdom, and guidance that may have taken decades to acquire.
This is why beneficial knowledge should be learned, practiced, preserved, and passed on to others while scholars are alive.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦②
فِعْلُ الْحَكِيمِ لَا يَخْلُو مِنَ الْحِكْمَةِ
“The action of a wise person is not without wisdom.”
🌱**Reflection:**A wise person considers consequences before acting. Sometimes the wisdom behind an action may not immediately be apparent to everyone.
This teaches us not to rush to judgment and to seek understanding before criticizing what we do not fully comprehend.
“Whenever I wanted to write about my mother, I realized that I wasUnlettered / Illiterate .”
NOTE : The two words may sound similar, but their meanings are different:
Umm → أُمّ → Mother 🌱
Ummī → أُمِّيّ → Unlettered / Illiterate 📖
🌱 **Reflection:** A mother holds a place of immeasurable value in the life of her child. Through her love, patience, sacrifices, nurturing, and guidance, she helps shape the person her child becomes. Much of what we carry within us—our manners, values, strength, and compassion—may have first been planted by her. Her care is often given quietly, yet its effects can remain with her children for a lifetime. Truly, the honour and gratitude owed to a mother are among the greatest blessings a child can recognize.
It reminds us to appreciate our parents and recognize how much of our character may have been shaped by their care and upbringing.
“Responding with an appropriate answer does not necessarily contradict noble character.”
🌱 **Reflection:**Islam encourages good character, restraint, wisdom, and justice. A person does not have to answer every provocation with anger.
There is a difference between defending oneself appropriately and responding with arrogance, abuse, or injustice.
The believer should always consider whether his response brings benefit or merely increases conflict.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦⑤
مَنْ طَلَبَ وَاعِظًا فَالْمَوْتُ كَفَاهُ
“Whoever seeks a preacher, death is sufficient for him.”
🌱 **Reflection:**Death itself is one of the greatest reminders.
A person may hear countless lectures and read numerous books, but the certainty that every soul will eventually taste death should be enough to awaken the heart.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ
“Every soul shall taste death.”
— Qur’an 3:185
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦⑥
كَفَى بِالْمَوْتِ وَاعِظًا
“Death is sufficient as an admonition.”
🌱**Reflection:** Death puts worldly life into perspective.
We should therefore use our time wisely, repent before it is too late, fulfill our responsibilities, and prepare for the meeting with Allah.
The believer remembers that this world is temporary while the Hereafter is everlasting.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦⑦
الطُّيُورُ عَلَى أَشْكَالِهَا تَقَعُ
“Birds of a feather flock together.”
🌱 **Reflection:**A person's companions can have a powerful influence upon his character, habits, and priorities.
For this reason, Islam places great importance upon choosing righteous companionship.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
الْمَرْءُ عَلَى دِينِ خَلِيلِهِ
“A person follows the religion of his close friend.”
📚 Sunan Abī Dāwūd 4833; Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī 2378
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦⑧
كَلِّمِ النَّاسَ عَلَى قَدْرِ عُقُولِهِمْ
“Speak to people according to the level of their understanding.”
🌱 **Reflection:** Knowledge must be communicated with wisdom.
A teacher should consider the age, background, ability, and understanding of the person being taught. Complicated matters may need to be explained gradually.
The goal of teaching is not to demonstrate how much we know, but to help another person understand and benefit.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑦⑨
لَا يَعْرِفُ مِنْ كَوْعِهِ إِلَى بُوعِهِ
“He does not even know the difference between his elbow and his wrist.”
🌱**Reflection:**This expression describes someone who lacks basic understanding of a matter.
It reminds students that there is no shame in admitting what they do not know. The real danger is speaking about matters without knowledge.
“Knowledge is of two types: acquired knowledge and gifted knowledge.”
🌱**Reflection:**Some knowledge is acquired through study, reading, memorization, teachers, and sustained effort.
Other forms of understanding may be granted by Allah as a gift: insight, wisdom, sound judgment, and the ability to recognize how knowledge should be applied.
A serious student therefore combines effort with humility, knowing that beneficial understanding ultimately comes by the permission of Allah.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑧③
الْحَقُّ يَجِبُ أَنْ يُقَالَ
“The truth must be spoken.”
🌱 **Reflection:**Truthfulness is a fundamental quality of the believer.
However, speaking the truth also requires wisdom, sincerity, appropriate timing, and good manners. The objective should not be humiliation or argument, but establishing what is correct and beneficial.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:
وَقُلْ جَاءَ الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ
“And say: Truth has come and falsehood has vanished.”
— Qur’an 17:81
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑧④
الْحَقُّ مُرٌّ
“The truth can be bitter.”
🌱**Reflection:**People do not always find the truth easy to accept.
A sincere person must sometimes accept advice that challenges his desires, corrects his mistakes, or requires him to change.
The believer should therefore ask Allah for sincerity and humility so that he accepts truth even when it is difficult.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑧⑤
الْعَوَامُّ كَالْأَنْعَامِ
“The masses are like grazing animals.”
🌱**Reflection:**This expression is understood as a warning against living without knowledge, direction, or conscious reflection.
It should not be used as an excuse to insult ordinary Muslims. Rather, the lesson is that a person should not blindly follow whatever he hears.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى repeatedly calls people to think, understand, reflect, and follow guidance.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑧⑥
خَاطِبِ النَّاسَ عَلَى قَدْرِ عُقُولِهِمْ
“Address people according to the level of their understanding.”
🌱 **Reflection:**This principle is especially important for teachers, parents, students, callers to Islam, and anyone who communicates religious knowledge.
Not every audience requires the same vocabulary, depth, examples, or explanation.
Wisdom in teaching means giving people what they can understand while gradually helping them progress.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
⑧⑦
أَنْزِلِ النَّاسَ مَنَازِلَهُمْ
“Give people their proper place and position.”
🌱**Reflection:**People differ in knowledge, age, experience, responsibility, and circumstances.
Giving people their proper place means recognizing these differences and treating each person with appropriate respect.
The student should respect the scholar, the young should respect the elderly, and everyone should be treated with justice and good manners.
True wisdom is knowing how to deal with different people appropriately without arrogance or injustice.
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌿AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS🌿
✦ ──────────────── ۞ ──────────────── ✦
🌱FINAL REFLECTION 🌿
These sayings remind the student of several important principles:
Knowledge requires humility.
Truth requires courage.
Teaching requires wisdom.
Companionship affects character.
Death is the greatest reminder.
Repetition strengthens knowledge.
Scholars should be respected, while mistakes should not blindly be followed.
People should be addressed according to their understanding and treated according to their proper position.
The student of knowledge should therefore seek not merely to collect words, but to transform beneficial knowledge into character, wisdom, worship, and action.
PART ONE — TIMELESS SAYINGS & BENEFICIAL REMINDERS
---
📚NOBLE SCHOLARS & TEACHERS OF MADRASA ABDULLAH IBN ABBAS :
**2000 – 2009**
These beneficial expressions were collected from the teachings, reminders, advice, and wisdom shared by scholars and teachers associated with Madrasa Abdullah Ibn Abbas during the period 2000–2009.
🌿 **THE TEACHERS**🌿
╭─────────────── 🌿 ───────────────╮
Shaykh Abdul Moez
└─ Tunisia
Shaykh Shukri Abdul Wahid
└─ Tunisia
Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman
└─ Mali
Shaykh Muhammad Aslam
└─ Pakistan
Shaykh Abdul Baqi
└─ Pakistan
Shaykh Inaam ul-llah
└─Pakistan
🌿 And Other Noble Teachers & Scholars
╰─────────────── 📚 ───────────────╯
These sayings contain reminders concerning knowledge, character, time, learning, companionship, manners, perseverance, and the importance of putting beneficial knowledge into practice.
“Take knowledge from those above you, those at your level, and those below you.”
🌱 **Reflection:** A sincere student can benefit from many people. Never allow pride to prevent you from learning.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS** 🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⑪
** لِكُلِّ فَنٍّ رِجَالٌ **
“Every field has its experts.”
🌱 **Reflection:** Every subject has people who have dedicated themselves to mastering it. Know whom to learn from.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS** 🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
⑫
** الإِسْنَادُ مِنَ الدِّينِ **
“The chain of narration is part of the religion.”
🌱 **Reflection:** Islamic knowledge should be received carefully and traced back to reliable sources. Accuracy protects knowledge from being distorted.
🌱 **Reflection:** A mother gives generously through care, patience, sacrifice, and nurturing. Her efforts often benefit others long after they are given.
“How many trees do I stone, yet they reward me with fruit?”
🌱 **Reflection:** The tree gives fruit despite being struck. Learn the beautiful quality of responding to harm with patience and goodness.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS**🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
㉘
** خَيْرُ الجُلُوسِ فِي الزَّمَانِ كِتَابٌ **
“The best companion in time is a book.”
🌱 **Reflection:** A beneficial book can accompany you when others are absent. Make time for reading and reflection.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS** 🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
㉙
** فَاقِدُ الشَّيْءِ لَا يُعْطِيهِ **
“One who lacks something cannot give it.”
🌱 **Reflection:** A person can only give what he possesses. Build yourself with knowledge, character, patience, and sincerity before trying to teach others.
“Outward beauty accompanied by an ugly character is like a lamp placed above a grave.”
This expression is preserved here as part of the traditional collection; its wording should not be taken as a general judgment about people.
🌱 **Reflection:** Outer appearance has little value if character is neglected. True beauty is strengthened by good manners and a sound heart.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS** 🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
㊲
** الجَاحِظُ دَمِيمُ الخِلْقَةِ **
“Al-Jāḥiẓ was described as unattractive in appearance.”
🌱 **Reflection:** Historical descriptions of appearance should remind us that physical appearance is not the measure of a person's knowledge, contribution, or worth.
A traditional humorous and pessimistic expression about marriage, preserved here as part of the collection.
🌱 **Reflection:** Marriage should not be reduced to a joke about hardship. It requires patience, mercy, responsibility, forgiveness, and mutual effort.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS**🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
㊿⑩
** كُلُّ جَدِيدٍ لَذِيذٌ **
“Everything new is delightful.”
🌱 **Reflection:** New experiences can be attractive, but lasting benefit requires looking beyond novelty and considering what truly brings goodness.
“Do not put your nose into what does not concern you, or you may hear what displeases you.”
🌱 **Reflection:** Avoid unnecessary interference in matters that do not concern you. Guarding the tongue and curiosity can protect the heart from trouble.
“If our hearts were pure, we would never tire of the words of our Lord.”
🌱 **Reflection:** A heart that loves Allah finds nourishment in His revelation. Ask Allah to purify your heart and increase your love for the Qur'an.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI •MADRASA IBN ABBAS**🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
㊿⑳
** فَاقِدُ الشَّيْءِ لَا يُعْطِيهِ **
“One who lacks something cannot give it.”
🌱 **Reflection:** Develop the qualities you hope to give others. A person who wants to teach patience, kindness, and knowledge should strive to possess them himself.
---
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **END OF PART ONE**
** PART TWO WILL BE OUT SOON, بِإذن الله **
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 **AHMADTRINI • MADRASA IBN ABBAS**🌿
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
🌿 ** A SMALL REMINDER —READ•BENEFIT•SHARE **
If you have benefited from these reminders, take a moment to reflect upon them, benefit from them, and share the beneficial ones with others.
A small reminder shared with sincerity may become a means of benefit for someone else—and Allah knows how far a single reminder can travel.
“And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits the believers.”
— **Qur’an 51:55**
May Allah make every beneficial word we learn, teach, preserve, and share a source of Ṣadaqah Jāriyah (continuous charity) for us, our teachers, our parents, and all those who helped us upon the path of beneficial knowledge.
Shaykh Abdul Moez
Shaykh Muhammad bin Abdur Rahman
Shaykh Muhammad Aslam