Since we mentioned the Tablîghî jamâ‘ah, I just remembered that some times non-‘ulamâ’ – due to not knowing the limits of the Sharî‘ah – speak about the virtues of Tablîgh among the masses in such a manner: for example, a few Tablîghî brothers went to Japan for Tablîgh. They called out the adhân, performed salâh, ate some food and slept away. The unbelievers saw them and said: “Look at these people, they fell asleep without intoxicating themselves, while we have to take heroin and sleeping pills, and still we do not get sleep. The religion of these Muslims who have come out in the path of Allâh is very nice.” Eight to ten of these people who saw these Muslims embraced Islam. Then these immature propagators criticize the ‘ulamâ’ by saying that what the ordinary Tablîgh people are doing is not even being done by the ‘ulamâ’. This is a serious act of immaturity and a great misunderstanding. The fact of the matter is that the unbelievers are distressed and restless because of their unbelief (kufr) and the curse of being far away from Allah Ta’ala. When they see these people engaging in the worship of Allah Ta’alaeating and sleeping away, they embrace Islam from seeing these things.

Therefore, you can praise these people in the sense that they did an act which was desirable (mustahab) but do not accord them superiority over the ‘ulamâ’ because the ‘ulamâ’ are teaching Bukhârî Sharîf, they are safeguarding the sciences of prophet-hood, and disseminating them – all of which is compulsory. Whereas it is not compulsory to go in Tablîgh, it is a desirable and beloved act. Therefore, those who say the following about the ‘ulamâ’ are extremely immature and witless: “On the day of Resurrection, the unbelievers will hold the ‘ulamâ’ by their collars and say to them: ‘You remained confined in your madâris and did not remove us from the darkness of unbelief. Why did you let us go into Hell?” Statements of this nature cause the masses to have no respect and value whatsoever for the ‘ulamâ’.