BENEFIT 496: The Distinction Between Self-Promotion and Spreading Knowledge

Question: May Allāh reward you with goodness. The question is: how can we distinguish between assuming prominence in da‘wah — which scholars have warned against — and between spreading knowledge and goodness? Sheikh Sulaymān Ar-Ruhaili hafidahullah: Assuming prominence in da‘wah is when a person sets himself up as an authority: people refer back to him, he rules and judges, he warns against others and repels them, he passes judgment on senior scholars, he places himself ahead of the senior scholars, his word is taken as decisive, while the senior scholars are disregarded or deemed ignorant. This is undue self-promotion, and it is blameworthy. As for spreading goodness, it means that a person shares beneficial knowledge while being mindful of his own status and limitations. He conveys what he has learned, he shares reliable clips of trustworthy scholars, he transmits the words of recognised scholars, and he guides people only according to what he knows, without exceeding his limits or elevating himself beyond his station. This is praiseworthy, desirable, and the one who does it is thanked and rewarded for it. One should not confuse the two matters. Some people with the ability to spread good knowledge hold themselves back out of fear of falling into self-promotion. This is, in reality, a form of incapacity. Others, however, when they share something, become inflated with self-importance, seeing themselves as a shaykh, an imam, or a reference point. They go beyond their knowledge, taking on the role of an “internet jurist,” soliciting people to send them questions. Then, whenever a message reaches them, they simply search online for “the ruling on such and such matter,” read it, and proceed to issue fatwas. This is going beyond one’s knowledge and raising oneself above one’s actual level — this is unwarranted self-promotion. If we understand this distinction, the matter becomes clear, and all praise is due to Allah. This should suffice.