Arrangement of Books for a Student of the Hanbali School of Jurisprudence
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Question:
Your Eminence the Shaykh. What are the books with which one should begin who wants to know the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, and what are the books with which one should end? We have attended the lessons on Ikhtisar al-Mukhtasarat, then Dalil al-Talib, then Zad al-Mustaqn'i. What is the correct sequence in the school?
Answer:
Yes, it is as you mentioned. *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt* is where one starts. It begins with *Ādāb al-Mashī li-l-Ṣalāh* by Shaykh al-Islām Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. It contains the prayer, the zakah, and the fasting. One starts with that, then with the text of *al-Dalīl*, because it is the most concise, then with *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt*. After *Ādāb al-Mashī li-l-Ṣalāh* comes *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt*, then after *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt* comes the text of *al-Dalīl*, then after the text of *al-Dalīl* comes *Zād al-Mustaqnīʿ*, which is with us now. Then, once he has mastered these concise texts, he reads in the intermediate books, such as *al-Iqnāʿ* and *al-Muntaḥā*. Then, once he has mastered those, he reads in the detailed books: he reads in *al-Mubdīʿ*, he reads in *al-Mughnī*. Yes, he progresses step by step, step by step. He does not start with the large books, as some students do now. They start with the large books when they have no foundation from the beginning. That is wasted. He reads in the disagreements and opinions, and nothing comes of it; it is wasted. Perhaps he gets tired and bored and gives up seeking knowledge.
So he starts with the concise books, step by step. He memorizes them and reads them to one of the scholars who explains them to him. It is not enough for him to merely memorize them, and he should not read them to an ignorant person or a pretender to knowledge. He reads them to a proficient scholar who clarifies them and explains them to him. He might read them to someone who misleads him, who explains them with an incorrect explanation. So two things are necessary: choosing the book and choosing the teacher. Both are necessary. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence the Shaykh
Your Eminence the Shaykh. What are the books with which one should begin who wants to know the Hanbali school of jurisprudence, and what are the books with which one should end? We have attended the lessons on Ikhtisar al-Mukhtasarat, then Dalil al-Talib, then Zad al-Mustaqn'i. What is the correct sequence in the school?
Answer:
Yes, it is as you mentioned. *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt* is where one starts. It begins with *Ādāb al-Mashī li-l-Ṣalāh* by Shaykh al-Islām Muhammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb. It contains the prayer, the zakah, and the fasting. One starts with that, then with the text of *al-Dalīl*, because it is the most concise, then with *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt*. After *Ādāb al-Mashī li-l-Ṣalāh* comes *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt*, then after *Akhṣar al-Mukhtaṣarāt* comes the text of *al-Dalīl*, then after the text of *al-Dalīl* comes *Zād al-Mustaqnīʿ*, which is with us now. Then, once he has mastered these concise texts, he reads in the intermediate books, such as *al-Iqnāʿ* and *al-Muntaḥā*. Then, once he has mastered those, he reads in the detailed books: he reads in *al-Mubdīʿ*, he reads in *al-Mughnī*. Yes, he progresses step by step, step by step. He does not start with the large books, as some students do now. They start with the large books when they have no foundation from the beginning. That is wasted. He reads in the disagreements and opinions, and nothing comes of it; it is wasted. Perhaps he gets tired and bored and gives up seeking knowledge.
So he starts with the concise books, step by step. He memorizes them and reads them to one of the scholars who explains them to him. It is not enough for him to merely memorize them, and he should not read them to an ignorant person or a pretender to knowledge. He reads them to a proficient scholar who clarifies them and explains them to him. He might read them to someone who misleads him, who explains them with an incorrect explanation. So two things are necessary: choosing the book and choosing the teacher. Both are necessary. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you, Your Eminence the Shaykh
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 141/46 شرح زاد المستقنع/ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (31:22)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.