Page:Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje - The Achehnese Vol II. - tr. Arthur Warren Swete O'Sullivan (1906).djvu/25

 ālāt or "instruments"), by the correct handling of which one may master the principal branches of religious learning.

The popular verdict on the numerous scholars who have got no further than the Alpiah, yet are wont to vaunt themselves on their learning, finds expression in the verse which passes as a proverb among the Achehnese: "Study of grammar leads only to bragging, study of the Law produces saints", On the other hand a certain reverence lurks in the idea that prevails among the ignorant, that he who has studied the nahu is able to comprehend the tongues of beasts.

Besides the grammatical lore, there are also other "instruments", branches of learning subsidiary to the study of the law and of religious doctrine, but in no Mohammedan country and least of all in Acheh is the acquirement of these considered an indispensable prelude to the more advanced subjects. Such are for example the various subdivisions of style and rhetoric, arithmetical science (indispensable in the study of the law of inheritance), astronomy, which assists in determining the calendar and the qiblah, and so forth. These subjects are indeed taught in Acheh, but they occupy no certain place in the curriculum generally adopted; the time spent on them depends very much on the pleasure of the students and the extent of their teacher'’ knowledge.

The main purpose of study should be, properly speaking, the knowledge of Allah's law as revealed through Mohammed in the Qurān and in his own example (Sunnah), and as in the lapse of time (with the help of Qiyās or reasoning by analogy) confirmed and certified by the general consent (Ijmāʿ) of the Moslim community. With the students or teachers of to-day, however, the knowledge of this law cannot be acquired by the study of the Qurān and its commentaries together with the sacred tradition as to the acts (sunnah) of the Prophet. For such direct derivation of religious rules from their original sources a degree of knowledge is required which is at present regarded as quite beyond the student's reach. He has to restrict himself to the authoritative works in which the materials are moulded and arranged according to their subjects. In these studies each is bound to follow the law- books of the school (maḍhab) to which he belongs, although he must also recognize the full rights of the three other schools to their own: interpretation of the law.