The characteristics of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim in teaching and the condition of memorizing the Qur'an
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Question:
Your Eminence, may Allah reward you with good for your advice and guidance, and may He record it in your scale of good deeds. Since Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) was among your greatest teachers and sheikhs, we ask for a mention and a brief account of his characteristics and traits in teaching and instructing the students. Is it true, Your Eminence, that he did not allow anyone to seek knowledge from him unless they had first memorized the Noble Qur'an? And is this the correct methodology for a student of knowledge, that the student begins by memorizing the Qur'an first, or not? We ask you to inform us about this.
Answer:
Our Shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), was the most knowledgeable teacher I studied under, and the most juristic teacher I studied under (may Allah have mercy on him). Allah granted him jurisprudence and knowledge in the Book and the Sunnah, the principles of jurisprudence, and patience in teaching. He would teach in the mosque at the beginning of the day, in his home during the late morning, in the mosque after the midday prayer, in the mosque after the afternoon prayer, and after the sunset prayer. All his times were occupied with teaching (may Allah have mercy on him); his times were occupied with teaching. He was the most knowledgeable person I saw, and the most knowledgeable person I encountered among the people of knowledge (may Allah have mercy on him). He would teach after the dawn prayer in hadith, jurisprudence, and grammar. He would also teach in his home during the late morning in books of hadith and others. He would teach in books of hadith and others after the midday prayer, and also in the mosque after the afternoon prayer. He would teach inheritance law after the sunset prayer for a long period. He taught us inheritance law after the sunset prayer in his mosque (may Allah have mercy on him). So their times were filled with teaching in the morning, late morning, midday, afternoon, and sunset (may Allah have mercy on him).
And after the night prayer, he would review the lessons and go over the lessons that were read to him (may Allah have mercy on him). He did not condition a student of knowledge to have memorized the Qur'an. The one who reported this about him has no authenticity for this; he did not condition this upon anyone. He would take care of the student's composition and his jurisprudence. He would ask the students in the lessons, "What is the ruling on such and such? What is the ruling on such and such?" He would pose the issue to the students in their lessons.
And he would answer them, saying this one is correct and this one is wrong, then he would clarify the correct answer to them. This was in the lesson on tawhid (the oneness of Allah), this in hadith, this in jurisprudence, this in grammar, this in inheritance law, and this in history. He would pose the questions and listen to the answers, then clarify the correct answer with whom? With the students. He would train them in this. His gatherings were filled with this, with the lessons and questions all together. Sometimes he would summon some of the students to his home and ask them about prepared issues. Sometimes he would summon them to his home, gather questions for them, and ask them about five, six, or seven important ones. Then he would take their answers to know who among them was distinguished by knowledge, other than the questions he poses in the lesson. He would take their answers in the lesson, then clarify the correct from the wrong with evidence. And he would urge the students to listen, be well-mannered, and take care of the lesson. May Allah have mercy on him, and he did more than what has been mentioned.
The presenter:
Yes.
Your Eminence, may Allah reward you with good for your advice and guidance, and may He record it in your scale of good deeds. Since Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) was among your greatest teachers and sheikhs, we ask for a mention and a brief account of his characteristics and traits in teaching and instructing the students. Is it true, Your Eminence, that he did not allow anyone to seek knowledge from him unless they had first memorized the Noble Qur'an? And is this the correct methodology for a student of knowledge, that the student begins by memorizing the Qur'an first, or not? We ask you to inform us about this.
Answer:
Our Shaykh, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him), was the most knowledgeable teacher I studied under, and the most juristic teacher I studied under (may Allah have mercy on him). Allah granted him jurisprudence and knowledge in the Book and the Sunnah, the principles of jurisprudence, and patience in teaching. He would teach in the mosque at the beginning of the day, in his home during the late morning, in the mosque after the midday prayer, in the mosque after the afternoon prayer, and after the sunset prayer. All his times were occupied with teaching (may Allah have mercy on him); his times were occupied with teaching. He was the most knowledgeable person I saw, and the most knowledgeable person I encountered among the people of knowledge (may Allah have mercy on him). He would teach after the dawn prayer in hadith, jurisprudence, and grammar. He would also teach in his home during the late morning in books of hadith and others. He would teach in books of hadith and others after the midday prayer, and also in the mosque after the afternoon prayer. He would teach inheritance law after the sunset prayer for a long period. He taught us inheritance law after the sunset prayer in his mosque (may Allah have mercy on him). So their times were filled with teaching in the morning, late morning, midday, afternoon, and sunset (may Allah have mercy on him).
And after the night prayer, he would review the lessons and go over the lessons that were read to him (may Allah have mercy on him). He did not condition a student of knowledge to have memorized the Qur'an. The one who reported this about him has no authenticity for this; he did not condition this upon anyone. He would take care of the student's composition and his jurisprudence. He would ask the students in the lessons, "What is the ruling on such and such? What is the ruling on such and such?" He would pose the issue to the students in their lessons.
And he would answer them, saying this one is correct and this one is wrong, then he would clarify the correct answer to them. This was in the lesson on tawhid (the oneness of Allah), this in hadith, this in jurisprudence, this in grammar, this in inheritance law, and this in history. He would pose the questions and listen to the answers, then clarify the correct answer with whom? With the students. He would train them in this. His gatherings were filled with this, with the lessons and questions all together. Sometimes he would summon some of the students to his home and ask them about prepared issues. Sometimes he would summon them to his home, gather questions for them, and ask them about five, six, or seven important ones. Then he would take their answers to know who among them was distinguished by knowledge, other than the questions he poses in the lesson. He would take their answers in the lesson, then clarify the correct from the wrong with evidence. And he would urge the students to listen, be well-mannered, and take care of the lesson. May Allah have mercy on him, and he did more than what has been mentioned.
The presenter:
Yes.
Source
رحلتي مع الكتاب — islamhouse.com (46:13)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.