How does a young man learn religious knowledge?

Question : The questioner says: I am a young man in the Faculty of Engineering, and I love to learn the Sunnah and apply it in all aspects of my life, but I do not know how to learn it, and I have engaged in reading, so I read but was unable to apply it. I also love to learn religious knowledge, so what should be done? And why do you advise us? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer : If you, O young man studying in the Faculty of Engineering, have not been able to gain understanding in the religion of Allah, and you have read what you have read of books, then what I advise you to do is to seek a shaykh who is trustworthy in his knowledge and his religion, and learn from him until he opens for you the door of knowledge and the door of understanding. This is because many people, when they want to take knowledge from books, may go astray, become lost, and be wasted. If he has a teacher who opens the doors of learning for him, that makes it easy for him. And we recited, I think yesterday, the saying of the poet. Come, O people. Yes. And what is the first line of the poem? And who sought knowledge without a shaykh? O people of the Arabs, one comes to recite a poem of two hundred lines and leaves, and the people memorize it. He goes astray from the straight path after that? And the knowledge becomes confused for him until he becomes more lost than the wise man. He gave his daughters in charity to men, seeking thereby the gardens of bliss. The wise man saw poor young men, and he had daughters, either under his guardianship or I do not know, the important thing is he said: These poor men want us to give them our daughters in charity to draw near to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. So he gave each one a daughter, seeking thereby to draw near to Allah. What do you say about this?
This is not permissible, because no one marries without a mahr except the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as Allah the Exalted said: And the donkey of the wise man, the wise man says: If the times were just, I would ride, because I am a simple ignorant person and my companion is ignorant.