Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
Dear brother in Islam, we are really pleased to have your question and to have the chance to convey some of the teachings of our religion to our Muslim brothers. In fact, it adds to our happiness to find guidance being disseminated and the word of truth being highly elevated.
First of all, it is to be stated that in Islam scholars have a great role to play and a mission to carry out. It is their role to declare and convey the truth to people, to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil; and it is their mission to show them the straight path. In fact, this is the role of all Muslims, as there is no place for clergy in Islam in the sense of a theocratic authority. However, this role and duty is stressed in respect to scholars, as they are the experts in Islamic Shari`ah who know the Islamic rulings, principles and norms better than anyone else.
Explaining this role and responsibility of scholars, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Scholars are the heirs of prophets, and prophets neither left behind dinars nor dirhams (Arab coins); rather they left knowledge. He who acquires knowledge has really gained something of great value."
In his response to the question you raised, Sheikh Faisal Mawlawi, Deputy Chairman of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, states:
"The role of Muslim scholars in the current crisis is to clarify the truth to the masses, advise the leaders, and guide people to abide by the Divine teachings in all aspects of life.
Muslim scholars are responsible before Allah not to deny the truth. Rather, they are required to clarify it in broad daylight. They are supposed to use wisdom and fair exhortation as a tool to reach their aim.
Added to this, the scholars should apply all the above while keeping in their minds the difficult circumstances surrounding the Muslim Ummah and the dangers that threaten Muslims.
In this regard, if Muslim scholars are weak to declare the truth, then they are not permitted to misguide the masses or to defend the falsehood under any pretext.
Here, I recall the Prophet’s Hadith, "The master of martyrs is Hamzah – the Prophet’s uncle – and a man who is killed by a tyrannical ruler because he enjoined the ruler to do what is good and to shun evil."”
The eminent Muslim scholar, Dr. `Ali Jum`ah, Professor of the Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence at Al-Azhar Univ., states:
"The mission of Muslim scholars, particularly nowadays, is to explain for people what Allah has revealed in the Qur’an and to help them understand the whole situation without any ambiguity. They should reveal the bare facts in broad daylight. Almighty Allah says: “Those who hide the proofs and the guidance which We revealed, after We had made it clear in the Scripture: such are accursed of Allah and accursed of those who have the power to curse.” (Al-Baqarah: 159)
Having said this, I would like to stress that this should not be regarded as mere fruitless words or speeches, for it helps in enlightening people with the teachings of their religion so that they may act accordingly."
