Guidance for Students of Knowledge and an Explanation of the Ranks of Seeking It

Question:
Shaykh Salih, what guidance do you offer to students of knowledge, whether they are beginners or those who have already started? What are the books with which they should begin their pursuit of knowledge? And what is the reward for seeking knowledge for the sake of Allah? May you be rewarded.

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. This is an important question, and it concerns how to seek knowledge. How should a student of knowledge begin, and from whom should he take his knowledge? What are the books with which he should start? And what is the most important discipline among the disciplines of knowledge? We say, and success is from Allah: There is no doubt that seeking knowledge is a matter of great importance. Allah the Exalted said: . Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) has a chapter titled "Knowledge before speech and action." He mentioned this verse because if action is not based on knowledge, it is misguidance and toil without benefit. If that is the case, then it is obligatory for the Muslim to seek knowledge.
This is divided into two categories. The first category is that without which the religion of the Muslim cannot be established. This is an individual obligation (fard 'ayn) for every Muslim, male and female, to learn what is necessary for the establishment of his religion: his creed, his prayer, his zakah, his fasting, and his Hajj. He must learn the pillars of Islam, how to perform them, what are the conditions for each act, and what is the condition for its acceptance by Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. "Actions are by intentions, and every person will have what he intended." This is an individual obligation for the male and the female. And every person who reaches puberty must begin with this.
Especially the matter of creed, because it is the foundation upon which his actions are built. An action without knowledge is not accepted; an action without creed is invalid and does not benefit its doer. So he begins first by learning creed: This is the creed. He begins with the knowledge of creed, and then he learns the rulings of the obligatory prayer, which is five times a day and night. He learns its conditions, its pillars, its obligations, and how to perform it so that it is in the prescribed manner that Allah accepts, with sincerity of intention. Then he learns how to perform zakah: what are its conditions? What are the wealths in which it is obligatory? What is the amount that is obligatory? And to whom is this zakah distributed, so that he performs it in the required manner? Because it is the companion of prayer. Then he learns how to fast Ramadan, what are the conditions of fasting, what are its invalidators, and what are its detractors? Then he learns how to perform Hajj to the Ancient House. How does he perform Hajj and 'Umrah? He must learn these things in detail, even if in a summarized form, because there are summaries for every act of worship that a person and a beginner can learn easily, with reference to the people of knowledge.
Then he learns the rulings of transactions. This is the second category of knowledge, which is a collective obligation (fard kifayah). So whoever has the ability to learn it, he learns it to benefit himself and to benefit the Muslims. This is in the chapter of transactions, in the chapter of inheritance and bequests, in the book of endowments, in the book of marriage, the book of divorce, the book of crimes, the book of hudud, and the book of judgment. This is a collective obligation. If those who are sufficient perform it, benefiting themselves and sufficing the Muslims, then it remains for the rest as a confirmed recommended practice (sunnah mu'akkadah). So it is necessary to...
Learn knowledge through the known methods among the people of knowledge, which Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has prescribed, and which His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) has prescribed. He does not take knowledge from anyone but those who are known for it. He does not take knowledge from a pretender to knowledge, from an ignorant person, or from the people of misguidance and deviation. He only takes knowledge from the people of knowledge who are upright in obedience and worship. This is how knowledge is taken, either in formal schools, institutes, and colleges, or under the hands of shaykhs in the mosques. These are the fields for seeking knowledge. He also learns what helps in fiqh and in the rest of the sciences, what is called the "instrumental sciences," such as the science of grammar, the science of the Arabic language, and the science of rhetoric. This is necessary for a person to learn the Arabic sciences, including grammar and the Arabic language in which the Noble Qur'an was revealed, so that he may correct his recitation of the Qur'an and not make errors in it. This is not possible except by learning grammar. He also learns the science of calculation in inheritance, how to divide the cases, and how to give every right-holder his right as Allah has prescribed. This is called the science of calculation. And he learns fiqh, as we mentioned, in transactions and so on.
And this undoubtedly requires of a person two things. The first thing is patience with the length of learning, and patience with the hardship in learning. The second thing is acting upon what Allah has taught him. It is necessary to act upon what Allah has taught him. And the third thing is that he teaches people: So he learns and he teaches.
As for the misguided group that says there is no need to learn knowledge because it hinders action—the intended action is what they focus on. They strive in acts of worship and leave the knowledge that is its guide and its leader. These are a people of misguidance, and their action is misguidance. This is mentioned in Surat al-Fatihah, which you recite in every rak'ah: Those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favor are those who combined beneficial knowledge and righteous action. They did not take knowledge only without action, and they did not take action without knowledge. As for those upon whom is the anger, they are those who took knowledge and left action, like the Jews. And as for those who are astray, they are those who took action and left knowledge. And at the forefront of these are the Christians, who worship Allah in ignorance and misguidance. In every rak'ah you recite this great surah. So reflect upon it and act upon it, and do not pay attention to those who belittle the seeking of knowledge and discourage it. Do not pay attention to those who throw knowledge with ignorance, without knowing its guidelines and limits, thereby misleading people. These are matters and principles in seeking knowledge that the Muslim must know. The foundation is intention: you seek knowledge with a good intention, because seeking knowledge is worship, and worship requires intention, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Yes.