Amirul Mumieen Maulana Ali SA stated: العلم وراثة كريمة , knowledge is a noble legacy. People associate wealth, property and other material possessions with the word, “wiraasat” (inheritance), because these are the things that can be earned by one and spent by another; the bane of inheritance. Upon the death of a person all his hard earned wealth passes on easily to his kin who appropriate it with a sense of entitlement instead of gratitude. More often than not the members of the kin fight savagely over the leftovers and sometimes even plot to hasten the end of the person as if the wealth always belonged to them and he is only a caretaker.
On the other hand, knowledge can never be bequeathed like wealth, as it is something which one cannot seek or gain on behalf of another. It is a tree whose fruits can be consumed only by the one who has sown its seeds and nurtured it with effort. However, knowledge can be shared and taught to the family but only whilst the person is still alive, not after death. If taught properly, it not only survives the teacher’s passing but keeps increasing, uplifting and edifying the receivers throughout their lives, whereas wealth left upon death can be squandered in no time. Those who receive knowledge as legacy are always grateful to their benefactor and this sense of profound gratitude compels them to do the same with their own offspring thereby ensuring the perpetuation of the legacy. Above everything else, wealth can be inherited only through kinship, while the legacy of knowledge can be passed on to any deserving.
The word, “al-´Ilm,” with the prefix ‘al’ denoting specificity, refers to a particular kind of knowledge which is passed on as legacy only and not discovered or created through intellectual brilliance and using the tools of investigation, research or experimentation. Maulana Ali SA said, “The ´Ilm which descended with AdamAS and by which all the prophets were exalted is indeed with Mohammed SAW and his progeny. So where are you being led astray? And where are you heading to?” The Fatemi Doat Mutlaqeen RA are the inheritors as well as the custodians of this pristine ´ilm which passes on from one Dai to another as legacy. This knowledge is acquired by every succeeding Dai through the bestowment of his predecessor and also through his own eligibility, thus enabling him to provide true leadership not only to his own community but to the world at large.
It is in recognition of this ‘light of knowledge’ that one of the premier institutes of India, The Aligarh Muslim University, presented its Chancellorship, to the Fatemi Dai, Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal SaifuddinTUS. The noble legacy continues from Syedna Taher SaifuddinRA and Syedna Mohammed BurhanuddinRA to Syedna Mufaddal SaifuddinTUS. The times may have changed, developments in science and technology may have altered the social order of the world, yet the path towards salvation will always remain constant, and only Maula can lead us on this path with the noor of his divine ´ilm. Mumineen who seek and follow his instructions in all matters, big or small, of their temporal and spiritual lives derive the barakat of this ´ilm and are guaranteed protection in this world and deliverance into the next. May Allah grant our Maula, al-Dai al-Ajal Syedna Aali Qadr Mufaddal SaifuddinTUS a long life till the day of Qiyaamat.
