Teaching the General Public by a Student of Knowledge and the Method of Seeking Knowledge
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: Is it permissible for a student of knowledge to give lessons to the general public to correct their creed, doing so by presenting evidence and transmitting the statements of recognized scholars, and speaking only about what the people of knowledge have said?
The Shaykh:
But who guarantees that he understands the words of the people of knowledge? Only a scholar speaks on these matters. As for the student of knowledge who limits himself to transmitting fatwas, that is not sufficient; because he may not understand them or place them in their proper contexts, so it is necessary to refer to the people of knowledge in this matter.
The questioner:
Then, in his second question, he asks: Is it sufficient to read books only and not to keep the company of scholars and shaykhs?
The Shaykh:
No, that is not the method of seeking knowledge. Reading books is done alongside studying with shaykhs. As for reading books only, that is a waste and not seeking knowledge, because he does not have knowledge of what is in these books, and he may misunderstand them greatly and think he is on the right path. It is necessary to take knowledge from the scholars known for it, not from those who think they know, or from the ignorant, or from books. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, and may Allah reward you with good.
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner says: Is it permissible for a student of knowledge to give lessons to the general public to correct their creed, doing so by presenting evidence and transmitting the statements of recognized scholars, and speaking only about what the people of knowledge have said?
The Shaykh:
But who guarantees that he understands the words of the people of knowledge? Only a scholar speaks on these matters. As for the student of knowledge who limits himself to transmitting fatwas, that is not sufficient; because he may not understand them or place them in their proper contexts, so it is necessary to refer to the people of knowledge in this matter.
The questioner:
Then, in his second question, he asks: Is it sufficient to read books only and not to keep the company of scholars and shaykhs?
The Shaykh:
No, that is not the method of seeking knowledge. Reading books is done alongside studying with shaykhs. As for reading books only, that is a waste and not seeking knowledge, because he does not have knowledge of what is in these books, and he may misunderstand them greatly and think he is on the right path. It is necessary to take knowledge from the scholars known for it, not from those who think they know, or from the ignorant, or from books. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, and may Allah reward you with good.
Source
موقف المسلم من الفتن — alfawzan.live (39:49)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.