Sometimes a person loves another person so strongly that they listen to their every word and follow their every command. If we look into the life of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam, we see that the Sahabah radiallahu anhu would be ready to relieve any duty that was placed on them. Hazrat Mu’adh ibn Jabal radiallahu anhu once accompanied Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wa salam on a journey and during this journey Rasul e Paak salallahu alayhi wa salam called out “Ya Mu’adh!” three times and every time,Hazrat Mu’adh radiallahu anhu replied with, “Labbayk Ya Rasulullah wa Sad’ayk!” (I am present O Rasulullah and this is a privilege upon me!). So it is established from this that when a person loves another person, he is ready to listen to their every word and follow him in all ways.
Then the second example is of a person who loves someone so strongly that they listen to their word and follow their every command however, that person is not the type of person to follow and by taking his counselling, a person is at risk of becoming misguided. In my humble opinion, this is portrayed very well in Surah Khaf. Allah Ta’ala relates the story of Hazrat Musa and Kazir alayhimasalam in which the latter kills a young boy. Hazrat Musa alayhisalam is stunned by this deed but later, Hazrat Kazir alayhisalam justifies his act by revealing the intention of Allah Ta’ala for this child. He says, “As for the boy, his parents were believers. We were concerned that he would force rebellion and disbelief upon them. We, therefore, wished that their Lord would replace him with someone better than him in piety, and more closer to affection.” When parents love their child so much, they will instantly do anything for them and if the child has become misguided, he possesses the power of misguiding his parents and forcing them into misguidance also by the way of this love. Thus it is established that it is important whom we give our hearts to.
Shah Waliullah Dehlwi rahimahullah narrates a hadith in his Arba’in, “Your love for someone can blind you and deafen you.” So naturally, it is common sense; if we are going to love a person to this extent, we must make sure that person is of a pious nature so that he can blindly help us in to Jannah. Similarly, if we are going to love a person to this extent, we must make sure that the person is not of a foul nature, otherwise he will continue to misguide us and we will blindly follow him into destruction. The above is a mere introduction to what I want to discuss. It seems that many people who are new to practising Islam go to university and instantly become overtaken by the services made available by Islamic societies.
Sometimes, there may be brothers who speak so very eloquently that the heart becomes pierced instantly by their words. As a result, flocks of people instantly take a great liking towards this person and fall in love with him (out of respect) and follow his every suggestion; to the extent that if this speaker beautified a sin, the common folk would commit it thinking it to be correct. A person is in his rights to go to talks, listen to them, engage in them and begin to understand them. However, a person must be most wary of loving a person so strongly that he takes his deen from them without questioning whether it is right or wrong. This type of love should be reserved only for a person who is a kaamil sheikh (complete sheikh) in every sense of the word and is known for his righteousness and knowledge.
It is completely absurd that a person who is weak in faith can go to university and take knowledge without question from a person who is neither an ‘Alim nor a kaamil sheikh without questioning. And questioning does not mean, “Why should I follow this?” “Because it is in the Hadith!” by doing this a person is setting himself up for an answer to which he will not have the ability to reply. Rather, he should take his matters of deen from a person who is an ‘Alim so that he is practising in accordance with the consultation of a scholar. A person will not take medication from a half baked doctor so why should one take medication for his Iman for a person who is not qualified in anyway dispense medicine?
Caution is needed in all walks of life, especially when we are not learned or firm in our practice of our faith; otherwise a person will begin to blow like ashes in the wind, if the wind sways in one direction, he will sway with it and if it begins to sway in the other direction, he will go with it too. By the end, his thoughts will be so muddled up that he is not following the religion of Nabi e Kareem salallahu alayhi wa salam but he will be following the religion of his own logic and understanding which is equal to zilch. It is for this reason Rasul e Paak salallahu alayhi wa salam said, “A man will follow the religion of his friend, so be careful whom you make friends with.”
May Allah Ta'ala give us the ability to look after our Iman and take from people who are of a sound nature. Ameen.
Here is video I recently came across by Molvi Abdul Majid saab which is brilliant in speaking about this matter to some extent:
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