084 Malfoozat (Sayings) of Hakeem-ul-Ummat Mujaddid-ul-Millat Hazrat Maulana Muhammad Ashraf Ali Thanvi (RA)

Schholders/Scholars should not become subordinate to the common people

He stated that scholars should not become subordinate to the common people and the ignorant, as there is a danger that the grandeur and respect of religion (Deen) might depart from their hearts. Today, the audacity and courage of the public have increased to the point where they look down upon the people of knowledge, and the cause of this is the people of knowledge themselves. The reason I react so quickly to any action or behavior of the public is due to this thought: why is it that the people of the world, who are prominent due to their wealth, or the officials, who are prominent due to their status—why doesn't the public behave carelessly with them as they do with the people of knowledge? Why do they become so submissive (like a wet cat) in front of them? All of this is due to the lenient attitude of the scholars. I often say: neither become so loose (weak) nor so rigid that it hurts others; remain in the middle path. Do not be so bitter that someone spits you out, nor so sweet that someone swallows you. Nowadays, it has come to the point that some scholars have started considering the taste (desires) of the public while answering religious rulings. I deeply regret this approach; it is against the dignity of the people of knowledge. While answering religious rulings, the demeanor of a scholar should be like that of a judge sitting in a court session.

(Faizan-e-Muhaddis, Page 137)