Advice for the Beginner in Seeking Knowledge

Question:
The questioner asks: What do you advise the beginner in seeking knowledge?

Answer:
As we continue, we advise the beginner in seeking knowledge, first, to make his intention sincere for Allah the Exalted, and second, to turn to acquiring knowledge from scholars and teachers, whether in schools or in gatherings of knowledge, if he finds them, and to strive for this. For this reason, the righteous Salaf sought knowledge from scholars and traveled from one country to distant countries, exposing themselves to dangers and journeys to receive knowledge from scholars. If books were sufficient, they would have gathered a quantity of books around them and read them in their own countries or in their homes. Why would they travel? From Sham to Yemen, from the Hijaz to Egypt, and over distances that were not covered in that time by cars or airplanes, but rather on foot, amidst smells and dangers. All of this indicates to us that knowledge is a transmission from scholars, not merely reading books. Yes.