The things with which a student of knowledge begins his learning
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There are some students of knowledge who begin seeking knowledge with books of hadith, not with the fiqh manuals,And they justify this by saying: claiming that the fiqh manuals are devoid of the evidence of the Book and the Sunnah. Is this correct?
What I see is that the student should begin, before anything else, with understanding the Noble Qur'an;For Allah the Exalted said: [Surah al-Zumar: 29], and because the Qur'an does not require any effort in its authentication; for it is established by mass transmission (mutawatir). But the Sunnah contains what is authentic, what is good, what is weak, and what is fabricated, so it requires effort. Furthermore, it also requires gathering its various chains. A person may be presented with a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that has a specification for its generality, or a restriction for its absoluteness, or this hadith may be abrogated and he does not know it. For this reason, you will find that the one who relies on his understanding of the hadiths makes many mistakes. There is no doubt that the hadiths, or the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), are one of the primary sources. They are like the Qur'an in that it is obligatory to act upon them if they are authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
As for the claim that the manuals are devoid of what Allah and His Messenger said, yes, most of the fiqh manuals do not contain the evidence. However, the evidence is found in their commentaries. So they are not devoid of evidence when considering their commentaries, which analyze their wording and clarify their meanings.
And what I see is that a person should begin first with the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic),And secondly: then with the books of fiqh based on the Book and the Sunnah; because these regulate his actions and correct his understanding.
But if we were to ask: Is it better for me to memorize a fiqh manual, or a concise hadith manual? Our view is that he should memorize a concise hadith manual, such as *Umdat al-Ahkam* or *Bulugh al-Maram*, but he should not neglect referring to the words of the scholars and the jurists.
What I see is that the student should begin, before anything else, with understanding the Noble Qur'an;For Allah the Exalted said:
[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded.
كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا آيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِAs for the claim that the manuals are devoid of what Allah and His Messenger said, yes, most of the fiqh manuals do not contain the evidence. However, the evidence is found in their commentaries. So they are not devoid of evidence when considering their commentaries, which analyze their wording and clarify their meanings.
And what I see is that a person should begin first with the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic),And secondly: then with the books of fiqh based on the Book and the Sunnah; because these regulate his actions and correct his understanding.
But if we were to ask: Is it better for me to memorize a fiqh manual, or a concise hadith manual? Our view is that he should memorize a concise hadith manual, such as *Umdat al-Ahkam* or *Bulugh al-Maram*, but he should not neglect referring to the words of the scholars and the jurists.