The Optimal Methodology in Seeking Knowledge
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May Allah reward you, esteemed Shaykh: What is your opinion of the one who says: Seeking knowledge is only in reading books, and that it is not connected to the distinguished scholars, and he says: If a matter contradicts me among the issues I research, and after that if I am unable to resolve it, I refer it back to the shaykhs, knowing that he does not have the knowledge that helps him in that? Please give us a ruling, may Allah reward you.
The general rule in matters is that people are in two extremes and a middle, so this statement made by the brother is contradicted by the statement of the one who said: (Whoever’s shaykh is his book, his errors are more than his correct statements),Some people say: There is no path to knowledge except by learning from a teacher.
And some people say: Rather, there is a path to knowledge, which is receiving it from books.
And the correct view is: Both paths are correct: receiving from books and receiving from the mouths of scholars, but there is a necessary basic condition in these two matters: that the author be trustworthy in his creed, his knowledge, and his integrity.
And likewise we say regarding the teacher: He must be trustworthy in his creed, his knowledge, and his integrity, but receiving knowledge from the mouths of scholars is easier, more precise, and faster; because scholars are like cooks who have prepared the food for you, unlike the one who struggles to cook the food, for it is difficult for him, and perhaps he eats it before it is cooked, or perhaps he burns it before he eats it. So receiving from scholars is easier and more precise. For this reason, we see some of the brothers, indeed some of the scholars who relied on reading books only in their knowledge, we see in them sometimes extreme deviations far from the truth; because they did not receive from mature scholars. But if you do not find the scholar from whose mouth you receive, then read the books.Then, if we say: Receiving from the scholar is faster and more preserved, so that does not mean the student does not refer to the books, rather he refers to the books, but a reference restricted by the guidance of the scholar who is reading with him.
The general rule in matters is that people are in two extremes and a middle, so this statement made by the brother is contradicted by the statement of the one who said: (Whoever’s shaykh is his book, his errors are more than his correct statements),Some people say: There is no path to knowledge except by learning from a teacher.
And some people say: Rather, there is a path to knowledge, which is receiving it from books.
And the correct view is: Both paths are correct: receiving from books and receiving from the mouths of scholars, but there is a necessary basic condition in these two matters: that the author be trustworthy in his creed, his knowledge, and his integrity.
And likewise we say regarding the teacher: He must be trustworthy in his creed, his knowledge, and his integrity, but receiving knowledge from the mouths of scholars is easier, more precise, and faster; because scholars are like cooks who have prepared the food for you, unlike the one who struggles to cook the food, for it is difficult for him, and perhaps he eats it before it is cooked, or perhaps he burns it before he eats it. So receiving from scholars is easier and more precise. For this reason, we see some of the brothers, indeed some of the scholars who relied on reading books only in their knowledge, we see in them sometimes extreme deviations far from the truth; because they did not receive from mature scholars. But if you do not find the scholar from whose mouth you receive, then read the books.Then, if we say: Receiving from the scholar is faster and more preserved, so that does not mean the student does not refer to the books, rather he refers to the books, but a reference restricted by the guidance of the scholar who is reading with him.