The Ruling on Educational Trips for the Sake of Seeking Knowledge
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Question:
A questioner says: We are students on an educational trip. We would like a word of guidance from Your Excellency. What is your opinion on such trips?
Answer:
Seeking knowledge. It is obligatory for the Muslim. And if the matter requires that he travel to seek it, then he travels in the path of Allah. Musa (peace be upon him) traveled to seek knowledge, as Allah mentioned that in the Qur'an, his story with al-Khidr, and the imams of Islam.
Educational trips are well known from them. Allah the Exalted said:[At-Tawbah 9:122]. Yanfiru means they go out from their land to another land to seek knowledge. To gain understanding in the religion.
So this is something required, but the matter lies in the regulations. The matter lies in the regulations, because some trips are accompanied by pretenders who teach the students things that have no basis in knowledge, from their own choice, or from their own ideas, or from this aspect.
The second aspect is that some people exploit the trips for political matters, to teach the students to rebel against the rulers and to declare Muslims disbelievers. Declaring Muslims disbelievers and the like. And this is also dangerous. As for the regulated trip that is truly for seeking knowledge, and whose aim is to connect with the people of knowledge and attend the lessons of the scholars, this is good. And this is what we hope for most of the trips in our lands, that, if Allah wills, they are regulated and that those in charge of them regulate them with the Shari'ah regulations. And that they beware of elements entering with them that spoil their objective, or that someone who is not of them infiltrates with them. Yes.
A questioner says: We are students on an educational trip. We would like a word of guidance from Your Excellency. What is your opinion on such trips?
Answer:
Seeking knowledge. It is obligatory for the Muslim. And if the matter requires that he travel to seek it, then he travels in the path of Allah. Musa (peace be upon him) traveled to seek knowledge, as Allah mentioned that in the Qur'an, his story with al-Khidr, and the imams of Islam.
Educational trips are well known from them. Allah the Exalted said:
And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them
وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا كَافَّةً فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْSo this is something required, but the matter lies in the regulations. The matter lies in the regulations, because some trips are accompanied by pretenders who teach the students things that have no basis in knowledge, from their own choice, or from their own ideas, or from this aspect.
The second aspect is that some people exploit the trips for political matters, to teach the students to rebel against the rulers and to declare Muslims disbelievers. Declaring Muslims disbelievers and the like. And this is also dangerous. As for the regulated trip that is truly for seeking knowledge, and whose aim is to connect with the people of knowledge and attend the lessons of the scholars, this is good. And this is what we hope for most of the trips in our lands, that, if Allah wills, they are regulated and that those in charge of them regulate them with the Shari'ah regulations. And that they beware of elements entering with them that spoil their objective, or that someone who is not of them infiltrates with them. Yes.
Source
فضل الرحلات العلمية — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.