The Economic System of Islam — Page 80
80 host of regulations designed to cover every conceivable contingency in human life. Each of these aspects demands a thorough study, which is impossible unless a body of capable men make it the object of their lives. If such persons were stamped out of existence , from whom would the ordinary people learn? What would they learn? And how would Islam spread in the world? Tafs i r [commentary of the Holy Quran] is a vast branch of learning in itself that cannot exist independently of competent scholars devoted to its study, involving a thorough grasp of the ear- lier works and traditions, a command over the language, its usage and grammar, familiarity with the hadith, [sayings of the Holy Prophet sa ], and a study of comparative Religion, Arab and Jewish history, and the Bible. All this cannot be achieved without a lifelong effort, though, of course, a person might be blessed with this knowledge directly from the divine source. But this, is very rare— perhaps once in a century. Others can acquire it only through dili- gent study based upon righteousness. In the Communist State, such work is not considered work at all—it would not permit anyone to spend twelve years in studying and then a lifetime of teaching it to others. Such a person would be imprisoned or deprived of food and lodging, as he is a useless burden on the State. The situation is similar with respect to the branch of learning known as hadith. It involves careful study of dozens of works and their expositions, Arabic usage and grammar, and careful scrutiny of the chain of narrators in the case of each hadith. Without a proper study of hadith—a life-long activity—adequate knowledge of the details of Islamic teaching is impossible. Similarly, in the case of the branches of learning known as fiqah [religious knowledge], qa da [jurisprudence], history, ta s awwuf [mysticism], and teachings of