Who Are the “Worst of the Scholars” (Shurur al-ʼulama)

Question

Those religious scholars who are like sellers of barley disguised as wheat [i.e. frauds], and who constantly profit by setting people against one another — who are they, and what should they be called? What is meant by [the hadith]: [ar]مَنْ يُفَرِّقُ فَاقْتُلُوهُ بِالسَّيْفِ[/ar] “Whoever causes division [in the community] — kill him with the sword”?

Answer

Those who, for their own benefit and influence, set people against one another are “the worst of those beneath the canopy of heaven” (شَرُّ مَنْ تَحْتَ أَدِيمِ السَّمَاءِ). The remedy against them is not to listen to their words. As for the command “kill him with the sword” (فَاقْتُلُوهُ بِالسَّيْفِ)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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