Is seeking knowledge obligatory or recommended?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Is seeking religious knowledge obligatory or recommended?
Answer:
Seeking knowledge falls into two categories. The first is an individual obligation for every Muslim, which is to learn the matters of his religion, such as creed, prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj. One must know the rulings of the five pillars of Islam because they are required of every Muslim. This is called an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) for every Muslim. The second type of learning is a collective obligation (fard kifayah), which is learning the rulings of transactions, bequests, endowments, inheritance, marriage, and divorce. If a sufficient number of Muslims undertake this, the sin is lifted from the rest, and it remains a recommended practice (sunnah) for them.
Is seeking religious knowledge obligatory or recommended?
Answer:
Seeking knowledge falls into two categories. The first is an individual obligation for every Muslim, which is to learn the matters of his religion, such as creed, prayer, zakah, fasting, and Hajj. One must know the rulings of the five pillars of Islam because they are required of every Muslim. This is called an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) for every Muslim. The second type of learning is a collective obligation (fard kifayah), which is learning the rulings of transactions, bequests, endowments, inheritance, marriage, and divorce. If a sufficient number of Muslims undertake this, the sin is lifted from the rest, and it remains a recommended practice (sunnah) for them.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، هل طلب العلم واجب أم مستحب؟ للشيخ الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.