Phlegm In My Baby's Lungs

The Taliban: the meaning of a word

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In Arabic, the word talib (pl. tullāb more generally known in the dual Taliban ) literally means one who "asks " or who " research, and is specifically applied to the student of religious sciences , defined tālibul-'ilm , Meaning "seeker of knowledge .

Traditionally, this is dedicated to "look " of religious knowledge by going personally visiting scholars ( 'ulama' ) qualified in the various disciplines of Islamic sciences, attending to their regular public lectures, participating in their private study circles, and sometimes even living near their residences and to serve them for a certain period of time, depending on the nature and duration of their studies.
From generation to generation, only those who - in response to this period of intensive training, which can last up to several tens of years - received a specific authorization ( Ijaz ) by a qualified expert may in turn engage legitimately authentic teaching of a particular ; discipline - and indeed, from a certain point of view, it becomes a duty for them against other Muslims.

Although, therefore, the narrative of the Western media has wrongfully and forcibly compelled monopolized the term "Taliban " only in the cultural context of recent history of modern Afghanistan, the fact remains that term has to all intents and purposes, within the Islamic civilization, centrality and importance rarely equaled by other words, concepts or principles. Before the general and very serious misunderstanding of which he was the object, even among Muslims themselves, is therefore particularly important to clearly reaffirm the profound dignity and the true value.

And 'in fact this " seeks" Wisdom - characterized by the relationship established between the staff student and scholar, in an unbroken chain of transmission that, for every religious science, goes back directly to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه و سلم ) - to properly represent the intellectual foundation and the development model of the entire Islamic society traditional.
The work of conservation, transmission and evidence of knowledge constitutes a major collective obligations (fard kifāyah ) and a top priority - if not the top priority - the community of believers (ummah ) . God Almighty says:

۞ and was faithful to alienate all Without a group of all of them, a task force Itvgahoa In religion and warn their people when they come back to them so that they may warn ۞

" Ed i credenti non escano in missione tutti insieme.
Perchè un gruppo da ciascun clan non si reca ad istruirsi nella religione, per informarne il loro popolo quando saranno rientrati, to be on their guard? "[At-Tawbah (9): 122 ]

Where, then, every Muslim believer is required to personally know at least the basic principles of Islamic doctrine and the essential foundations of his ritual practices, this "group ( tā'ifah ) - format primarily from scholars themselves, and therefore all those who undertake a course of study with them - is required to keep full, to faithfully transmit and to provide truthful interpretation of Islamic religious sciences in their entirety.
E 'therefore through this mediation qualified, that the patrimony of wisdom of the Islamic tradition has been - and still is - providentially made available to the entire community of Muslims in the succession of eras and generations and, ultimately, at the disposal of all humanity, which in effect is universally addressed the message of Islam, until the completion of the Last Day.

The importance and scope of this work, and functions connected with it, will never sufficiently remarked. He said the Messenger of God (صلى الله عليه و سلم ), about the " seekers " of Knowledge and those - the wise men - who are the custodians titled:

" Who proceeds in a way seeking knowledge, God opens a path to Paradise, and the angels stretch their wings in front of one who seeks the science, welcomed what he does. For the scholar, asks for forgiveness who sits in the heavens and those who dwell in the land , to the fish in water, and the superiority of the wise is faithful to the superiority of the moon on the other stars, and the scholars are heirs of the prophets and the prophets is not left or dinars nor dirhams , but leave a legacy of science alone, but whoever takes, takes an abundant harvest. "

[ hadith collected by Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]

From these data the traditional and orthodox ranks as the ultimate form of relationship between the Divine and made the society human, Islamic civilization has focused all of its model of development around the needs of the transmission of sacred knowledge, the correct application of its guidelines and ritual practices, and the consistent witness of his principles before the rest of humanity.

To this end, with the appropriate financial support from the institutions of the Islamic state, as well as several private philanthropists of all time, was born and quickly developed the system of Madaris (sing. madrasah, read. " place of study") and jāmi'āt (sing. jāmi'ah bed. " universities, from which the universitas studiorum the European Middle Ages): special study centers wisdom, formed on the model of the first " circles of knowledge" (al- halaqāt'ilm ) era of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم ), able to attract and bring together a continuously increasing number of teachers and students in a single educational complex, providing infrastructure and support necessary for the efficient conduct of their intellectual activity, and while promoting the widespread dissemination, within the Islamic society, principles, values and the teachings of their traditional disciplines Islam and science relating to them.

the light of what has been observed, it is clear, now more than ever, in an era of general intellectual and spiritual dissolution, and with the providential approach of recent times, the role and function of tālibul-'ilm absolutely central importance and a priority - if possible, even more than in the classical era.
In this regard, it said the Messenger of God ( صلى الله عليه و سلم ):

" God does not rinserrerà science with an act that subtract to men, but rinserrerà science by restricting the number of scholars, until it will be some, and people will choose leaders ignorant: they will be questioned and give answers without science and will deflect and deviate. [ hadith collected by Bukhari and Muslim]

Although, ultimately, God Himself is the one and only guarantor of the integrity and the preservation of his knowledge on this earth, so great is the responsibility of believers, called to commit themselves to the limit and the maximum of its ability, to contribute actively to this real Opus Dei - that is, after all, the caliph function in the human race was providentially invested in the loins of Adam ( عليه السلام).

Well, they are to perform this function and this responsibility, we can not not start with the first take back with pride and determination, those words of the Tradition that modernity has long misunderstood, caricatured and vilified. If anyone has it rightly said that " Everything has been said, but is far from being understood " is precisely from the deep meanings of words and they bring that we are called to move our feet, without undue reticence, embarrassment ; foolish or complaints more or less specious, deceptively imposed on us by the many opponents of the Truth.