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In this picture I am sitting with one of the great scholars of Somalia, Shaykh Abdulkarim Hassan Hoosh. The Shaykh is deeply rooted in knowledge. Over the years he has taught many of the Islamic sciences. His speciality is usul al-fiqh, and he is also firmly grounded in tafsir and much more. But that is not why I am sharing this. It was the last ten nights of Ramadan in Makkah. We had just prayed Taraweeh and Tahajjud in the Haram, and on our way back we sat down together on these steps. The Shaykh has never filmed himself and has never allowed his face to be photographed. To the crowds passing by, he was simply an elderly man resting after prayer. While we sat there, a group of people came up to me with questions. They wanted rulings on various matters. Beside me sat a giant of knowledge, and not one of them turned to him. They did not know who he was. To them he was anonymous. I was struck by it. SubhanAllah, we live in a time when fame and popularity have become the measure of whom we ask and whom we consult. Those brothers cannot be blamed for not recognising him. But the moment showed me something: a man can carry an ocean of knowledge and pass unnoticed, while others are sought out because they are seen. Yet in sha' Allah, he is known to Allah for the good he has done for this Ummah, and that is the recognition that truly matters. My brothers and sisters, too often we decide whom to respect and from whom to take knowledge by how well known they are, rather than by what they carry. Let us not build our religion on who is famous, who is popular, or whose name everyone recognises, while the true people of knowledge sit among us unseen. As Imam Muhammad ibn Sirin said: "This knowledge is religion, so look carefully at whom you take your religion from." Knowledge is not fame. Popularity is not scholarship. May Allah preserve Shaykh Abdulkarim and all the hidden scholars of this Ummah, and grant us the wisdom to recognise and honour them.

This is a video of my son, Ibrahim ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Hassan, from one of my visits to Kuwait, where we met Sheikh Muhammad Jamil al-Nuristani, hafidhahullahu ta'ala. Meeting him left a real impression on my son. I explained to him the status of the scholar and what a privilege it was to be able to put my questions to him. Among the things I asked about was Muhammad ibn al-Wazir al-Yamani. I had been reading his works, and I asked the Sheikh about some of them and about what I had come across in them, as well as about Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and some of the statements of Sa'd al-Din al-Taftazani. My son sat there listening to the whole conversation. When we left, he said to me, "Dad, I really enjoyed being with the Sheikh. It motivated me." I share this, my brothers and sisters, because it is so important to bring your children along on your journeys in seeking knowledge. Let them see the scholars and the people of knowledge. Let them see you, their father or mother, sitting as a student and learning from the ulama. That leaves a deeper mark on them than any lecture or two you could give them yourself.