Seeking Knowledge Through Transmission from Scholars
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah guide you. What is your opinion of the one who says that seeking knowledge is only in reading books and has nothing to do with the noble scholars, and that he says if a matter contradicts me, I will research it, and after that, if it remains difficult, I will refer it to the shaykhs? What is your comment, Honorable Shaykh?
Answer:
This is the speech of an ignorant person who does not know seeking knowledge. Knowledge is by transmission, not by reading from books only. Rather, it is by transmission from scholars. As for books, they are a tool for seeking knowledge, not a reference, nor are they the teacher or instructor from whom you take knowledge. This is because you may err in your understanding and in what you read. Also, books, other than the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, are not infallible. You may say in them, "He erred," and you do not know. So do not rely on books in your learning. Rather, seek knowledge from scholars and use books to assist you. And if something is unclear to you, ask the scholars who are teaching, from whom you seek knowledge.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
May Allah guide you. What is your opinion of the one who says that seeking knowledge is only in reading books and has nothing to do with the noble scholars, and that he says if a matter contradicts me, I will research it, and after that, if it remains difficult, I will refer it to the shaykhs? What is your comment, Honorable Shaykh?
Answer:
This is the speech of an ignorant person who does not know seeking knowledge. Knowledge is by transmission, not by reading from books only. Rather, it is by transmission from scholars. As for books, they are a tool for seeking knowledge, not a reference, nor are they the teacher or instructor from whom you take knowledge. This is because you may err in your understanding and in what you read. Also, books, other than the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, are not infallible. You may say in them, "He erred," and you do not know. So do not rely on books in your learning. Rather, seek knowledge from scholars and use books to assist you. And if something is unclear to you, ask the scholars who are teaching, from whom you seek knowledge.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/218 — archive.org (5:26)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.