As salaam alaikum Reader,

I pray this message finds you and your family in strong faith and good health.
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I just got a message about an elder passing away-and these messages seem to be coming rather frequently these days… may Allah accept all who have passed with a beautiful acceptance and bring ease to their families during this difficult time.
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There’s nothing strange about dying-not for the old or young. As a matter of fact it’s the one thing everyone (for now) can agree is inescapable.
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One particular Hadith has struck me lately in response to the transitioning of these elders…

Abdullah ibn Amr reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah does not withhold knowledge by snatching it away from his servants, but rather he withholds knowledge by taking the souls of scholars, until no scholar remains and people follow ignorant leaders. They are asked and they issue judgments without knowledge. Thus, they are astray and lead others astray.”

With each passing elder a special piece of knowledge and wisdom goes with them.
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We may think that in the age of the internet that knowledge is preserved forever. I remember years back when the argument to remove memorization from childrens education was being made because ‘why memorize when you can look it up on google?’​
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But true knowledge isn’t preserved that way.
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Knowledge is in the hearts of human beings. It is a gift. Given to our father Adam (AS) by the Lord of all creation who taught him the names of all things.
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Knowledge can only be preserved by relationships. By sitting at the feet of those who know, and more importantly those who live what they know.
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This isn’t just about ‘Islamic’ scholars for me. I once had a conversation with my daughter that I, having been raised in Brooklyn, had no idea about planting or growing food to eat. Unlike my parents who grew up in the West Indies, my sisters and I grew up in an apartment building surrounded by other apartments building and brick homes. I knew nothing about growing food to eat and could barely keep houseplants alive once I had my own as an adult. It never seemed like a big deal.
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But then it hit me… a person like me could potentially starve to death because of their ignorance. Someone ignorant of what should be basic knowledge could literally go hungry while parsley , kale, and all manner of green superfoods are growing literally ‘like weeds’ all around them.
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With grocery stores who needs to know how to grow things ? With google who needs to talk to people with lives experience ? Why ask a Shaykh or teacher when we’ve got the ‘all-knowing internet’…

Knowledge is preserved with relationships.
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No man made database can ever replace what is lost when a person of knowledge dies.
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May Allah allow us to appreciate one another and benefit one another and continue the beautiful legacies of those who came before us.
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When we hold on to each other in life then upon death the living are able to carry that torch that was within the one who is gone.
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May Allah preserve our relationships and help us to honor the living for His sake while they are still among us and while we are still among them. Many Allah forgive us all our sins and enter us into the highest paradise.
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Wa salaam alaikum