The Importance of Sincerity for Students of Knowledge
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The first matter: Sincerity of intention in seeking knowledge: for seeking knowledge is an act of worship.And acts of worship require two things: First: Sincerity for Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He).
The second: Following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And sincerity in seeking knowledge is achieved through matters: The first matter: that the servant intends by seeking knowledge to obey the command of Allah;For Allah the Exalted commanded knowledge in His saying: [Muhammad:19] Al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the heading of this verse: "Chapter: Knowledge before speech and action," then he cited the verse.
Second: That he intends by seeking knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah of Allah the Exalted; for seeking knowledge is one of the greatest means of preserving the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is preserved in the compiled books, and it is also preserved through the seeking of knowledge, which includes knowing the Shari'ah.
Third: That he intends by seeking knowledge to defend the Shari'ah and protect it from its enemies. The Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it: enemies who openly declare their enmity, and enemies who do not declare their enmity but conceal it. These enemies are more harmful than the first type; for the first type displays their enmity, and a person can guard against them and know what they have, so that the doubt in it can be removed. But the problem is when one conceals enmity under the appearance of a friend or the guise of a friend; you cannot know what he has until you clarify it, and you cannot know what he has until you guard against it. So the Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it, either in creed, or in morals, or in bad ideas, or otherwise. Therefore, a person must intend by seeking knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it from its enemies.
And from that also: That a person intends by seeking knowledge to remove ignorance from himself; for the default state of a human being is ignorance,As Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: [An-Nahl:78] and ignorance cannot be removed from the self except through learning. For this reason, you feel now that if you sit in a gathering of knowledge, you realize in that gathering what you did not have previously. For example, read a book; you read it from the beginning and gain knowledge, but you do not know what is in the end until you reach it. Therefore, seeking knowledge removes ignorance from the self.
And from that also: That you intend to remove ignorance from others; for people need to seek knowledge and need scholars who enlighten them, guide them to the Shari'ah of Allah, encourage them to it, and warn them against what contradicts it.For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Nothing is comparable to knowledge for one whose intention is sound.They said: How is the intention made sound?He said: He intends by it to remove ignorance from himself and from others.
The second: Following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And sincerity in seeking knowledge is achieved through matters: The first matter: that the servant intends by seeking knowledge to obey the command of Allah;For Allah the Exalted commanded knowledge in His saying:
So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin
فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لِذَنْبِكَSecond: That he intends by seeking knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah of Allah the Exalted; for seeking knowledge is one of the greatest means of preserving the Shari'ah. The Shari'ah is preserved in the compiled books, and it is also preserved through the seeking of knowledge, which includes knowing the Shari'ah.
Third: That he intends by seeking knowledge to defend the Shari'ah and protect it from its enemies. The Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it: enemies who openly declare their enmity, and enemies who do not declare their enmity but conceal it. These enemies are more harmful than the first type; for the first type displays their enmity, and a person can guard against them and know what they have, so that the doubt in it can be removed. But the problem is when one conceals enmity under the appearance of a friend or the guise of a friend; you cannot know what he has until you clarify it, and you cannot know what he has until you guard against it. So the Islamic Shari'ah has enemies who lie in wait for it, either in creed, or in morals, or in bad ideas, or otherwise. Therefore, a person must intend by seeking knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it from its enemies.
And from that also: That a person intends by seeking knowledge to remove ignorance from himself; for the default state of a human being is ignorance,As Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:
And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing, and He made for you hearing and vision and intellect that perhaps you would be grateful.
وَاللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُمْ مِنْ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ لا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْئاً وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَAnd from that also: That you intend to remove ignorance from others; for people need to seek knowledge and need scholars who enlighten them, guide them to the Shari'ah of Allah, encourage them to it, and warn them against what contradicts it.For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Nothing is comparable to knowledge for one whose intention is sound.They said: How is the intention made sound?He said: He intends by it to remove ignorance from himself and from others.