The Lifestyle of Scholars has to be Distinguished from that of the Laymen

Muhtaram Ulama-e-Kiraam (Mudda Dhillukum)

Assalaamu ‘Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh

The lifestyle of Scholars has to be distinguished from that of the Laymen

Hadhrat Maulana Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi (RA) once mentioned:

“Our lives have to be distinguished from the laymen. Onlookers should be able to fully understand that these people are not seekers of the world, and that wealth and riches are not their goal in life. Our work should be solely for the sake of Allah Ta`ala as was the way of our pious predecessors. As long as a salient difference does not appear in the moral character of the fraternity of scholars and they do not instill within themselves the quality of serving others, they will not be able to influence others nor will they be respected. They will not be able to imbibe within the minds of others the respect and honor for Deen. The respect of scholars will never be created by reporting the size of the institutions they run and the large number of students studying under them. The honor for scholars is created by the way they portray themselves. When the layman will notice that these scholars consider it as taboo to lay their hands on that which they (the laymen) will sacrifice their lives for i.e. the material possessions etc., nor do they show any concern for it, they will eventually say to themselves that we thought that riches were the ultimate goal in life, but in the eyes of the scholars, riches hold no weight.” (Tuhfat-ul-A’immah, p. 77)