Guidance and Advice for Students of Knowledge
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We are your sons from the Northern Borders region, from the city of Rafha. We have come to drink from the vast ocean of your knowledge. We are at the beginning of our pursuit of knowledge, so do you have, O our Shaykh, may Allah reward you, any comprehensive and beneficial advice in this field? May Allah preserve you?
First: We congratulate you on this high aspiration, which is taking the path to seek knowledge, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: (Whoever takes a path in which he seeks knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise) This is one matter.
Second: Rejoice in good, as long as this intention exists, and persist in seeking knowledge. Dedicate your efforts and make your greatest concern what you came for, which is seeking knowledge, and do not turn to anything else.For knowledge, as some said: If you give it all of yourself—Meaning: If you make all of yourself for knowledge—it will give you some of it. But if you give it only part of yourself, you will be deprived of it.
So knowledge requires effort, care, and patience; for it is a struggle in the path of Allah. In fact, seeking knowledge is better than the struggle in the path of Allah; for the people of knowledge are needed by the entire community, the disbelieving and the Muslim, whereas we do not need the struggle in the path of Allah except to repel the enemies.
Then strive to start with the concise books. Memorize them after memorizing the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).For example: First memorize the Book, then look to the Sunnah and select the authentic hadiths from it to memorize. Here is something (a digestible morsel), as they say, *Umdat al-Ahkam* by 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him). It is ready, having compiled what most people need from the rulings found in the two Sahihs. Memorize it.
And finally: Apply the knowledge through action. Do not be a copy of a book, but be affected by your knowledge in your worship, in your character, and in your dealings with people. Do not let your greatest concern be merely collecting and hoarding knowledge. Knowledge is intended for action, and whoever acts upon what he knows, Allah will bequeath to him knowledge he did not know.
Likewise, I advise you: Let your concern and your preoccupation not be what some of the youth are now being tried with regarding the issue of declaring someone a disbeliever: Is this person a disbeliever or a Muslim? Is this ruler a disbeliever or a Muslim?And if any disagreement occurs among the youth, he said: Leave this. This is an innovator, this is a brother, this is a Tablighi, this is a Salafi, and so on.
The Islamic religion commands its people to unite and to be upon the Shari'ah of Allah.Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Al-Imran:103] And Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Imran:105] And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: [Al-Shura:13] And Allah said to His Prophet, affirming: [Al-An'am:159] Let your concern not be to say: What is wrong with so-and-so the scholar! What is wrong with so-and-so the scholar! No, leave this. Direct yourselves to seeking knowledge and acting upon it, and leave people alone.
None of the scholars is infallible. Everyone makes mistakes and hits the mark. So if someone makes a mistake, we do not accept his mistake, and if someone hits the mark, we accept his correctness, not because he is so-and-so the son of so-and-so, but for the sake of the correctness. Did you not know that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) accepted the statement of the polytheists, even though they were polytheists? Yes,Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Al-A'raf:28] This is a proof. [Al-A'raf:28] This is a second proof. What did Allah say? [Al-A'raf:28] He rejected this proof because it was not correct,And He was silent regarding their statement: [Al-A'raf:28] because it was correct. Allah accepted it, even though it was from the statement of the polytheists.
Did you not know that when Satan said to Abu Hurayrah: Shall I direct you to a verse from the Book of Allah? If you recite it, a guardian from Allah will remain over you, and no Satan will approach you until you become morning.Abu Hurayrah said to him: Yes.
He said: The Verse of the Throne. So when Abu Hurayrah informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he said to him: (He has told you the truth, and he is a liar) And he is Satan. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) believed him, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) cautioned, saying: (He has told you the truth, and he is a liar) Meaning: Beware of him.Do not say: Did he tell me the truth in this and I should believe him in everything? No, he has told you the truth, and he is a liar.
Did you not know that a Jew came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and said: O Muhammad! We find that Allah places the heavens on a finger and the earths on a finger.
And he mentioned the rest of the hadith. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed in affirmation of the statement of the truth. He acknowledged him in this.Then he supported this with His saying, Exalted is He: [Az-Zumar:67] A Jew spoke the truth and it was accepted. Polytheists spoke the truth and it was accepted. Satan spoke the truth and it was accepted.
My brother! Do not make your habit and your concern what you say about so-and-so? What you say about so-and-so? So-and-so is a disbeliever! So-and-so is an innovator! So-and-so is an open sinner! This is of no benefit. It is regrettable that this Islamic awakening among the youth, and praise be to Allah, and we ask Allah to keep them firm, has been struck by this fitnah and disgrace. The youth have been divided because of so-and-so the scholar and so-and-so the scholar. What do we have to do with the scholars! If the scholar is dead, he has gone before his Lord, and Allah has taken charge of him. And if he is alive, the truth is accepted from any person, and falsehood is rejected from any person. May Allah bless you, O people of Rafha. And we do not know if the cold that came to us came with you, or was it before? Answer, may Allah reward you with good. You answered me, so answer me?The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: I know it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but Allah is Wise.The scholars mentioned: There are things in the air that only the severe cold kills. Subhan Allah! And this is observed. Mosquitoes decrease with the cold, and even flies decrease with the cold and die. And there are things, Subhan Allah! that do not die except with very hot heat. And Allah is Able to do all things, and He (Mighty and Majestic) is Wise.
I ask Allah for success for us and for you in what He loves and is pleased with. And I grant you permission to be absent next week. Perhaps work will reach you, it seems. You have no work, in reality every day a person is in work. But we hope for your excuse, if Allah wills, the week after that, in order to complete the discussion on Hajj.
And all praise is due 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.
Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. We bear witness that there is no god but You. We seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.
First: We congratulate you on this high aspiration, which is taking the path to seek knowledge, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: (Whoever takes a path in which he seeks knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise) This is one matter.
Second: Rejoice in good, as long as this intention exists, and persist in seeking knowledge. Dedicate your efforts and make your greatest concern what you came for, which is seeking knowledge, and do not turn to anything else.For knowledge, as some said: If you give it all of yourself—Meaning: If you make all of yourself for knowledge—it will give you some of it. But if you give it only part of yourself, you will be deprived of it.
So knowledge requires effort, care, and patience; for it is a struggle in the path of Allah. In fact, seeking knowledge is better than the struggle in the path of Allah; for the people of knowledge are needed by the entire community, the disbelieving and the Muslim, whereas we do not need the struggle in the path of Allah except to repel the enemies.
Then strive to start with the concise books. Memorize them after memorizing the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).For example: First memorize the Book, then look to the Sunnah and select the authentic hadiths from it to memorize. Here is something (a digestible morsel), as they say, *Umdat al-Ahkam* by 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him). It is ready, having compiled what most people need from the rulings found in the two Sahihs. Memorize it.
And finally: Apply the knowledge through action. Do not be a copy of a book, but be affected by your knowledge in your worship, in your character, and in your dealings with people. Do not let your greatest concern be merely collecting and hoarding knowledge. Knowledge is intended for action, and whoever acts upon what he knows, Allah will bequeath to him knowledge he did not know.
Likewise, I advise you: Let your concern and your preoccupation not be what some of the youth are now being tried with regarding the issue of declaring someone a disbeliever: Is this person a disbeliever or a Muslim? Is this ruler a disbeliever or a Muslim?And if any disagreement occurs among the youth, he said: Leave this. This is an innovator, this is a brother, this is a Tablighi, this is a Salafi, and so on.
The Islamic religion commands its people to unite and to be upon the Shari'ah of Allah.Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided
وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً وَلا تَفَرَّقُواAnd do not be like the ones who became divided and differed after the clear proofs had come to them. And those will have a great punishment.
وَلا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَأُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌHe has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein
شَرَعَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّى بِهِ نُوحاً وَالَّذِي أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ وَمَا وَصَّيْنَا بِهِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَمُوسَى وَعِيسَى أَنْ أَقِيمُوا الدِّينَ وَلا تَتَفَرَّقُوا فِيهIndeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects - you, [O Muhammad], are not [associated] with them in anything
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَرَّقُوا دِينَهُمْ وَكَانُوا شِيَعاً لَسْتَ مِنْهُمْ فِي شَيْءٍNone of the scholars is infallible. Everyone makes mistakes and hits the mark. So if someone makes a mistake, we do not accept his mistake, and if someone hits the mark, we accept his correctness, not because he is so-and-so the son of so-and-so, but for the sake of the correctness. Did you not know that Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) accepted the statement of the polytheists, even though they were polytheists? Yes,Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said:
And when they commit an immorality, they say, "We found our fathers doing it
وَإِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً قَالُوا وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَا آبَاءَنَاand Allah has ordered us to do it
وَاللَّهُ أَمَرَنَا بِهَاSay, "Indeed, Allah does not order immorality.
قُلْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَأْمُرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِWe found our fathers doing it
وَجَدْنَا عَلَيْهَا آبَاءَنَاDid you not know that when Satan said to Abu Hurayrah: Shall I direct you to a verse from the Book of Allah? If you recite it, a guardian from Allah will remain over you, and no Satan will approach you until you become morning.Abu Hurayrah said to him: Yes.
He said: The Verse of the Throne. So when Abu Hurayrah informed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he said to him: (He has told you the truth, and he is a liar) And he is Satan. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) believed him, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) cautioned, saying: (He has told you the truth, and he is a liar) Meaning: Beware of him.Do not say: Did he tell me the truth in this and I should believe him in everything? No, he has told you the truth, and he is a liar.
Did you not know that a Jew came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and said: O Muhammad! We find that Allah places the heavens on a finger and the earths on a finger.
And he mentioned the rest of the hadith. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) laughed in affirmation of the statement of the truth. He acknowledged him in this.Then he supported this with His saying, Exalted is He:
They have not appraised Allah with true appraisal, while the earth entirely will be [within] His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right hand
وَمَا قَدَرُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ وَالْأَرْضُ جَمِيعاً قَبْضَتُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَالسَّمَاوَاتُ مَطْوِيَّاتٌ بِيَمِينِهِMy brother! Do not make your habit and your concern what you say about so-and-so? What you say about so-and-so? So-and-so is a disbeliever! So-and-so is an innovator! So-and-so is an open sinner! This is of no benefit. It is regrettable that this Islamic awakening among the youth, and praise be to Allah, and we ask Allah to keep them firm, has been struck by this fitnah and disgrace. The youth have been divided because of so-and-so the scholar and so-and-so the scholar. What do we have to do with the scholars! If the scholar is dead, he has gone before his Lord, and Allah has taken charge of him. And if he is alive, the truth is accepted from any person, and falsehood is rejected from any person. May Allah bless you, O people of Rafha. And we do not know if the cold that came to us came with you, or was it before? Answer, may Allah reward you with good. You answered me, so answer me?The questioner: No.
The Shaykh: I know it is from Allah (Mighty and Majestic), but Allah is Wise.The scholars mentioned: There are things in the air that only the severe cold kills. Subhan Allah! And this is observed. Mosquitoes decrease with the cold, and even flies decrease with the cold and die. And there are things, Subhan Allah! that do not die except with very hot heat. And Allah is Able to do all things, and He (Mighty and Majestic) is Wise.
I ask Allah for success for us and for you in what He loves and is pleased with. And I grant you permission to be absent next week. Perhaps work will reach you, it seems. You have no work, in reality every day a person is in work. But we hope for your excuse, if Allah wills, the week after that, in order to complete the discussion on Hajj.
And all praise is due 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.
Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You. We bear witness that there is no god but You. We seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.