With which books does a student of knowledge begin?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : A questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, with what does a student of knowledge begin? Does he begin by studying the religious subjects, or does he begin by learning the Qur'an and memorizing it? May Allah reward you.
Answer : He begins with the Qur'an before anything else. Because the Qur'an is the origin of the sciences and the goal of the sciences. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Mishkat al-Masabih 2109 Learning the Qur'an and teaching it includes learning its words and learning its meanings. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: [Sad 38:29]. Then the Prophetic Sunnah, then the books of creed and tawhid (the oneness of Allah), then the books of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), and according to what his shaykh (scholar or teacher) who he studies with directs him to.
Answer : He begins with the Qur'an before anything else. Because the Qur'an is the origin of the sciences and the goal of the sciences. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
God’s messenger as saying, “The best among you is he who learns and teaches the Qur’ān.”
صلى الله عليه وسلم خيركم من تعلم القرآن وعلمه.[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.
كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2685- بماذا يبدأ طالب العلم من الكتب/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.