It was reported in adiits1 by Amad2, At-Tirmidiyyy3, Ad-Daarimiyy4 and Aaaawiyy5 that the Prophet was asked, after telling

g them that knowledge of the religion will disappear in the future, O Prophet of Aaah, how can knowledge disappear when we have copies of the Quraan and we have lea rned what they contain, and we have taught our children and our wives and our servants? He raised his head in anger and said, These Jews and Christians have with them their scriptures, yet they did not learn from them what their prophets brought them."6 That is, books alone are not enough; there must also be scholars that transfer the knowledge from one generation to the next, and can explain what is found in books.

A adiit is a statements about what the Prophet said, did or did not do in different circumstances. Amad ibn Muammad ibn anbal As-Saybaaniyy Al-Waa'iliyy (164 h. - 241 h.) is the Imam of the fourth school of fiqh: the anbaliyy school of Islamic Jurisprudence (see: Error! Reference source not found., page 126). His father was a governor in Sarkas, but Imaam Amad grew up in Bagdaad. He devoted his life to teaching and learning, and is said to have memorized some 1 million adiits. He was imprisoned and beaten from some time by a ruler who was influenced by a deviant sect . Az-Zirikliyy, Al'Alaam (2002), 1/203. Muammad ibn Iisaa ibn Sawrah ibn Muusaa ibn A-aaak As-Sulamiyy Al-Buugiyy AtTirmidiyy, Abuu Iisaa (209-279 AH/ 824-892 AD). He was a great scholar of adiit and is the author of one of the six most reliable adiit collections. He became blind towards the end of his life. Ibid., 6/322. Abduaah ibn AbdurRamaan ibn Al-Fal ibn Bahraam At-Tamiimiyy Ad-Daarimiyy AsSamarqandiyy (181-255 AH/797-869 AD.) He was a great scholar of Islamic Jurisprudence (fiqh) and adiit. He was one of the teachers of Muslim, the author of the adiit collection aii Muslim. Ibid., 4/95-96. Amad ibn Muammad ibn Salaamah Al-'Azdiyy A-aaawiyy, Abuu Jafar (239-321 AH/ 853933 AD). The great jurisprudent and adiit scholar. He was born in aiid in Egypt, and was the nephew of Al-Muzaniyy, a famous student of As-Saafiiyy (see footnote Error! Bookmark not defined.; Error! Reference source not found.). A-aaawiyy first studied jurisprudence in the Saafiiyy school, but later became the head of the anafiyy school in Egypt at his time. Among his famous books is his manifesto of the creed of Sunni Islaam, known as the creed of A-aaawiyy. Ibid., 1/206.
6 5 4 3 2

Aliy Al-Qaariy, Mirqaatu-l-Mafaatii (Beirut, Lebanon: Dar Al-Kotob Al-ilmiyah, 2001), 1/484.