All Praise is due to Allah, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon all His Prophets and Messengers, and upon all those who follow in their footsteps and adhere to their guidance until the Day of Judgment.

Islam places great importance and respect on knowledge because it leads to belief, guides to proper conduct, and reveals the ranks of deeds. Only through knowledge can one distinguish between true and false creeds, recommended and innovated rituals, correct and mistaken statements, valid and invalid transactions, and lawful and unlawful acts. It is not strange, therefore, that the first verses revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commands: “Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth, Createth man from a clot. Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not.” (Al-`Alaq 96: 1-5)

Actually, reading is the key to knowledge and the Qur’an refers here to a special type of reading; it is the reading undertaken in the name of Allah, the Creator, the most Bounteous, Who taught humankind and granted them the gift of knowledge. In this way, Islam establishes a close connection between knowledge and faith; a connection that makes scholars the most qualified to guide to faith and call to Allah. 

In addition, scholars are the real heirs of Allah’s Prophets and Messengers, who were sent to guide mankind to Allah’s path, deliver His message to them, establish standards of justice, impart the glad tidings of reward for those who follow the straight path and warn against deviating from it, leaving, thereby, no excuse for them before Allah. The legacy of the  Prophets is not money or certain property; rather, it is the knowledge and revelation they received from Allah. 

The Qur’an praised scholars and elevated their rank. In one verse Allah Almighty affirms that "Allah (Himself) is witness that there is no God save Him. And the angels and the men of learning (too are witnesses). Maintaining His creation in justice…" (Aal `Imran 3: 18) He also says, “of His servants only those who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah”. (Fatir 35: 28) Furthermore, some of the predecessors (salaf) maintained that the scholars are the ones referred to as “men in authority” in the following verse, “Ye who believe! Obey Allah, and obey the messenger and those of you who are in authority.” (An-Nisaa’ 4: 59) It is said, therefore, that while rulers govern people, scholars govern rulers. Another saying goes, “Two types of people influence all people, namely, rulers and scholars. If they are good, people become good and if they are bad, people also become bad.” It often happens that the corruption of scholars gives rise to the corruption of rulers. The reason is clear; the job of a scholar is similar to that of a doctor. If the doctor is corrupt or careless, who else can treat the patient or give him the necessary medication? 

True scholars are those who employ their knowledge in the service of truth and exert their effort to guide the Ummah. To them, knowledge and action are inseparable. They seek knowledge and act according to it; call people to the good and teach them what they know. Almighty Allah says, "… but (what he said was): Be ye faithful servants of the Lord by virtue of your constant teaching of the Scripture and of your constant study thereof." (Aal `Imran 3: 79) He also says, "And who is better in speech than him who prayeth unto his Lord and doeth right, and saith: Lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Him)." (Fussilat 41: 33)

Throughout history, Muslim scholars were the resort of the Ummah in times of crises and hardships; they would infuse the Ummah with the vigor it needed to remain steadfast on the religion, prompt it to reform its course, and call to Jihad and noble endeavor. They were often exposed to oppression in the cause of Allah, yet they never gave in or surrendered. Even the great imams who founded the four famous schools of fiqh were not spared such oppression.

The Qur’an and the Sunnah teach us that the Ummah can never rally around falsehood. Affirming this fact, the Qur’an says, “And of those whom We created there is a nation who guide with the truth and establish justice therewith.” (Al-A`raf 7: 181) The Sunnah also affirms that there always exists a group that stands up for the truth, and is never stopped or hindered by their opponents until the day of Resurrection. This is authentically reported on the authority of a large number of companions from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Scholars refer to this group as the ‘victorious group’ and it consists of knowledgeable people described in another hadith as the ‘people of integrity’ of each generation, who bear knowledge and purify it of any distortions, innovations, or false interpretations.

In the past, it was possible for an individual scholar who enjoyed the respect of his community to play a great role in reform; he would wake up those who were sleeping, remind the oblivious, teach the ignorant, and offer advice to the rulers. However, this can only be done nowadays through collective institutions that are capable of undertaking such major duties that lie beyond the individual’s ability. Actually, this collective spirit is cherished and recommended by Islam. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says, "The relationship of the believer with another believer is like (the bricks of) a building, each strengthens the other.'' Almighty Allah says, "… but help ye one another unto righteousness and pious duty …" (Al-Ma'idah 5: 2). He also says, "And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of Allah, and do not separate." (Aal `Imran 3: 103)

Existing Institutions in the Muslim World 

Undoubtedly, there exist Islamic institutions throughout the Muslim World that exert efforts in the fields of academic, humanitarian, and da`wah work. Yet, the institution we aspire for is distinct from all the presently existing ones. As a matter of fact, some of the existing institutions restrict their scope to the academic and scholarly field. Fiqhi institutions throughout the Islamic world represent good examples including Al-Azhar’s Academy of Islamic Researches, the Islamic Fiqh Council affiliated to the Muslim World League, and the Islamic Fiqh Academy affiliated to the Organization of Islamic Conference.

Some other institutions belong to their countries of origin; they were founded and funded by governments which also appoint their members. This gives such governments the chance to influence them to a greater or lesser extent, or , to say the least, people perceive them in this way.

Still other institutions are of a regional nature; they were set up to fulfill the needs of a certain country or region such as the European Council for Fatwa and Research and the Islamic Fiqh Academy of India. The Union we aim for, however, is marked by distinctive characteristics. 

Characteristics of the IUMS

Membership in the Union is open for scholars who graduated from Shari`ah universities and Islamic Studies departments at various universities around the Muslim world. It is also open for those who are keenly interested in Shari`ah sciences and Islamic culture and those who have considerable and tangible production therein. This union is characterized by main characteristics that are outlined as follows:

1. It is a pure Islamic Union comprising Muslim scholars from all over the world and representing different schools of Islamic thought. It bases its methodology and judgments on the primary sources of Islam.

2. It works globally to spread its message all over the world and it represents Muslim minorities living in countries where non-Muslims constitute the majority.

3. It is not a state-run body, but rather gains momentum from the confidence of the Muslims themselves. It is independent, but does not antagonize governments and it seeks to enhance bilateral cooperation on all that is beneficial for both Islam and Muslims.

4. It is independent as it does not follow a given country, group, or denomination. It takes pride only in the fact that it belongs to Islam and the Muslim Ummah.

5. It is a body for all Muslim scholars and it undoubtedly encourages scholarship, dissemination of knowledge, and works for the revival of our scholarly heritage.

6. It casts a spotlight on the eternal message of Islam using all possible means and state-of-the-art technology. All these means should be under the umbrella of calling to Allah with wisdom and good admonition, dialogue, and constructive debate whenever needed.

7. It eschews extremism and bigotry and thinks moderately.

8. It translates its words into actions, as it considers it insufficient for Muslims to propagate empty slogans. Rather, it encourages hard work and a positive attitude, and it enlists seasoned and appealing scholars.