WHO ARE THE INHERITORS OF THE PROPHET? by Ali Abubakar Sadiq
“Scholars are the inheritors of the prophets” is a Hadith reported by majority of compilers including Bukhari, Ibn Maja, Tirmidhi, Nisa’a, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban and others. The Hadith is most likely informed by the Quranic Verse 35:32 “Then we have given the book as inheritance to such of our servants as we have chosen”. Islam is a religion that set out to make a scholar of all believers, though to a degree, as God commanded us in Q17:37 “And pursue not that of which you have no knowledge; for every act of hearing or seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be enquired into (on the day of reckoning)” Thus a Muslim is required to have basic knowledge that would guide his life to a point, so that he could responsibly defend his actions, not only here in the world but in the hereafter. Therefore basic knowledge is a religious necessity. Scholars earned the position of inheritors of prophvet simply because they are a special class of Muslims distinguished by ...