Explaining what a student of knowledge should begin with and the most important books in each discipline

The questioner:
This questioner asks: With what should a student of knowledge begin his path in seeking knowledge? With tafsir first, or with 'aqidah, or with fiqh? We ask you, Honorable Shaykh, to clarify the order of these beginnings, from the most important to the less important, and then to clarify the first books a student of knowledge needs in each discipline.

The Shaykh:
Yes. The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, established a methodology for us to follow, and they want us to follow it. They did this by compiling summaries. They compiled summaries in every science. They compiled summaries in 'aqidah. They compiled summaries in fiqh. They compiled summaries in hadith and its sciences. They compiled summaries in the tafsir of the speech of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. They compiled summaries in the science of grammar and the sciences of the language.
So the correct method is for the student of knowledge to take a summary from each discipline, memorize it, and listen to it from one of the scholars who explains it to him. If he takes a summary in 'aqidah, a summary in fiqh, a summary in hadith and its sciences, a summary in the science of grammar, and a summary in usul al-fiqh, and he memorizes and understands these summaries, the door of knowledge will open for him by the permission of Allah. Because these are keys and foundations through which the student of knowledge enters the sciences and their expansions. Knowledge is not taken all at once, but rather bit by bit, dose by dose. So what I advise my brothers, the students of knowledge, is...
As I mentioned previously, that they should enroll in the study programs at the scientific institutes, in the College of Shari'ah and Principles of Religion, or they should organize study circles in the mosques under the guidance of scholars. They should read these summaries in each discipline; these are the foundations and keys to knowledge. As the proverb says: "Whoever neglects the foundations is barred from reaching the goal." Whoever neglects the foundations is barred from reaching the goal. So the one who wants to take knowledge without its proper path will not reach anything, but rather will be lost. This is the correct path and the sound path.
Also, I warn and repeat that a beginner student of knowledge must not act independently, whether in reading books or in learning knowledge. This is because he does not have the principles and foundations to proceed upon, nor does he have the rules to proceed upon. Therefore, he must take knowledge from its proper source. Allah the Exalted says: The gates of knowledge are known.
And the path of knowledge is known. Our predecessors, from the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to our present time, used to read these summaries from the scholars. They used to read these summaries from the scholars. In the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), they received knowledge from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). And in the time of the Tabi'un, they received knowledge from the Companions. Did the Tabi'un receive knowledge from the Companions who received knowledge from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? The primary source. And the Tabi'un received knowledge from the Companions. And the followers of the Tabi'un received knowledge from the Tabi'un, and so on. A connected chain. The latter takes it from the former. This chain ends with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?
So the one who wants to separate from this chain and invent a new method for learning knowledge will be mistaken and will not reach a result, but rather his result will be loss, or misguidance and deviation. Because any structure built on other than a foundation will end in collapse. And knowledge must be built on a correct foundation. A person should not limit himself to the discipline of 'aqidah only, or the discipline of fiqh only, or the discipline of hadith only, or the discipline of grammar only. He should not limit himself to this, but rather take a summary from each discipline. If he digests this summary and understands it, he moves on to what is broader than it, and so on, bit by bit. If he takes these foundations and masters them, he will be able, by the permission of Allah, to consult the encyclopedias and the books, benefit from them, and expand in his sciences, because he is building on a foundation and a basis. Like a merchant who has capital; profit does not come except after capital is available. There is no profit without the existence of capital. And the capital is these summaries and these principles established in every science of the Shari'ah, the sciences of reaching the goal, and the sciences of the language. This is the correct seeking of knowledge, and this is the sound methodology.

The presenter:
The questioner asked you to point him to a book in each discipline. Yes.

The Shaykh:
The books, and praise is due to Allah, are numerous. The summaries in 'aqidah are numerous. For example, there are three: Al-Usool ath-Thalathah by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. This is a concise and beneficial summary. Kashf ash-Shubuhat by Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. This is also a concise and beneficial summary that answers the doubts raised by the mushrikin and the worshippers of graves, and it exposes them and answers them with a satisfying answer, by the permission of Allah.
Also, the book Al-Tawhid by the Imam, also Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab. This is broader than what came before it, because he arranges his works in steps, bit by bit. And every work is broader than the one before it, and so on. The explanations of the book Al-Tawhid: Fath al-Mujid, Taysir al-'Aziz al-Hamid, Sharh Kitab at-Tawhid. All of these are beneficial explanations, but after memorizing the text and reading it from one of the scholars.
Also, Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah. In the names and attributes. And the principles of faith: faith in Allah, and faith in His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and faith in the divine decree, its good and its evil. All of these are covered in Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah. The text of As-Sahawiyyah and its explanation. Sharh at-Tahawiyyah by Al-'Izz ibn Abi al-'Izz al-Hanafi. All these books are beneficial in 'aqidah. But I repeat and emphasize that the beginner student of knowledge should not limit himself to acquiring books and reading them, but rather he must sit with the people of knowledge, study under them, and receive knowledge from them. They clarify these books for him. For example, in fiqh: the text of Ad-Dalil, the text of Az-Zad, 'Umdat al-Ahkam. These are all summaries in the fiqh of the Hanbalis.
And if he memorizes these texts and reads them from the people of knowledge, he can expand into what is broader than them: the explanations, Sharh az-Zad, Al-Rawd al-Murba', Sharh al-Iqna' known as Al-Kashshaf, Sharh al-Muntaha, and so on. The field opens up for him in the scientific encyclopedias in fiqh. For example, in hadith. For example, in hadith. For hadith, Bulugh al-Maram. This is a good text in the hadiths of rulings. And broader than it is Al-Muntaqa, Muntaqa al-Ahkam. This is also a book in the hadiths of rulings, and it is broader than Bulugh. And broader than it is Al-Muntaqa, Muntaqa al-Ahkam. This is also a book in the hadiths of rulings and it is broader than Bulugh.
Then the explanations: Sharh al-Bulugh, Subul as-Salam, Sharh Bulugh al-Maram, Nail al-Awtar, Sharh Muntaka al-Akhbar. Then, if the door opens for him in the science of hadith, the encyclopedias are before him: the Sahihs, the Musnads, and the Sunans are all available, praise be to Allah. But it is necessary to take the foundation; it is necessary to read the summaries first from the people of knowledge so that the person has a skill through which he enters the encyclopedias. In the sciences of hadith, for example, An-Nukhba, Nukhbat al-Fikr by Imam Ibn Hajar. Its explanation by the author, Alfiyyat al-'Iraqi on the terminology of hadith, explained by the author himself. The author explained it, and others explained it too. He named it in Alfiyyat al-'Iraqi; it has explanations.
In usul al-fiqh, for example, Rawdat an-Nazir by Ibn Qudamah and its explanation. Al-Waraqat by Imam al-Haramayn and its explanation, Qurrat al-'Ayn. And if a person enters this discipline, the encyclopedias in usul al-fiqh are numerous before him. For example, in grammar. It is Al-Ajrumiyyah, the introduction Al-Ajrumiyyah. This is the beginning from which the student of knowledge starts. And it must be prepared with one of the scholars. Then Al-Qatr, Qatr an-Nada by Ibn Hisham and its explanation. Sharh Qatr an-Nada. Also Al-Mulha, Mulha al-I'rab by al-Hariri and its explanation. Also Alfiyyat Ibn Malik and its explanations. The most famous and easiest of its explanations is Sharh Ibn 'Aqil. These are the books in each discipline, arranged as concise, intermediate, and detailed.
And in the other madhhabs: the Shafi'i madhhab, the Maliki madhhab, the Hanafi madhhab. They also have the same thing: they have concise books, they have intermediate books, and they have detailed books. Yes.