In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and Lord of all creation — may the salutations of Allah, His peace and blessings be upon the noblest of all of the Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad, upon his family, his Companions and all those who follow them precisely until the establishment of the Hour.
Dear brothers and sisters! Know that, the famous statement “The flesh of Islamic scholars is poisonous” is a famous maxim coined by the classical historian and great Islamic scholar, the author of a great, famous and popular book, ‘Tarikh Madinat Dimashq’ (The History of Damascus), Al-Hafiz, Imam Abul-Qasim Ali Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Asakir, and echoed by other notable Imams like Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, to warn the Ummah against the grave spiritual danger of insulting, abusing, slandering, mocking, or unjustly attacking the honour of those who carry and teach the divine knowledge; the Ulama’.
Al-Hafiz, Imam Abul-Qasim Ali Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Asakir wrote in his book Tabyin Kazib al-Muftari:
“Know, O my brother—may Allah guide us and you—that the flesh of the Islamic scholars is poisonous, and Allah’s custom in exposing and destroying those who belittle them is well known.”
