The Student of Knowledge’s Commitment to a Fiqh Text and Memorizing Hadiths

Question:
One of the sheikhs says that the student of knowledge should commit to one of the books of fiqh and study it, leaving aside the hadiths of rulings, such as Bulugh al-Maram, as you say, may Allah grant you success?

Answer:
It is not obligatory, but he should seek knowledge and understand fiqh. It is not obligatory for him to memorize a book, but he should learn and understand fiqh. Even the Qur’an, which is the greatest book, does not have to be memorized, but he should study it, reflect on it, learn from it, and benefit from it. It is not obligatory for him to memorize the Qur’an, nor to memorize hadiths, nor to memorize a book of fiqh; it is not obligatory for him. But if he memorizes the Qur’an and memorizes a book from the books of hadith, such as Bulugh al-Maram or 'Umdat al-Hadith, and memorizes a book of fiqh, such as 'Umdat al-Dalil or al-Zad or another, that is good; it helps him in good and helps him in knowledge. But the statement that it is obligatory or not obligatory—no, it is not obligatory. But this is good if it happens. If he memorizes the Qur’an, that is the greatest thing; that is the most important thing if it is facilitated. If he memorizes what is facilitated from the Sunnah, such as Bulugh al-Maram, and something like that from the hadith, that is good. And he should occupy himself with some fiqh texts to help him with the issues, understanding the issues, reviewing, reviewing his evidence. Yes.