A word from the Shaykh explaining the path of seeking religious knowledge and the importance of asking those with knowledge.

The Shaykh : [Praise is to Allah] We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whoever He misleads, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. , ,
As for what follows:
We have previously pointed out in past sessions that one of the prescribed methods for teaching people and explaining their religion to them is for them to ask questions and then receive answers. This is a method established by the Wise Lawgiver, for He—Blessed and Exalted is He—knows that people are not all driven in the same way in learning the rulings of their religion. It is known to everyone that the method followed in receiving knowledge is the scholarly circles, which were the way of receiving knowledge in the past and still are, to a small extent, in the present day. In these circles, those who have a desire to seek knowledge gather with some of the scholars in the mosque or in another place, and they receive from them the knowledge they desire in organized sessions. As you have all seen, this requires a certain type of person, namely that they be:
First: Desirous of seeking knowledge in a steady, organized manner.
Second: Possessing the psychological readiness, such as intelligence, memorization, and the like.
Third: And finally, having the time that helps them to be regular in seeking knowledge through this method of scholarly circles.
As I said just now, many people do not find in themselves these qualities that should be present in a student of knowledge. Some may possess them, but they do not find the scholar they are looking for, whom they wish to learn from. Or they find him, but he has no free time. Therefore, Allah—Mighty and Majestic—prescribed another method and means for receiving knowledge. And it seems that this has become a reality today due to the existence of means that bring voices closer, and I mean specifically the telephone. Questions become numerous through this telephone, and by that, people learn what they need.
Then, among the differences that appear between the previously followed method, which is receiving knowledge from the shaykhs and scholars, and the method of question and answer, is that the question allows the questioner to ask about what concerns him personally or his family, for whom he is responsible. Whereas in the first method, one learns what he may not feel he needs, even if later, especially if he aspires to become one of the scholars one day, he will find the benefit of seeking knowledge through that method. Since most people are not like that, for all of this, Allah—Mighty and Majestic—prescribed this method of seeking knowledge, which is question and answer. As He—Mighty and Majestic—said in the Noble Qur'an: . Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in this noble verse divided the Muslim community into two groups regarding their relation to knowledge: a group that does not know, and a group that knows. He made it obligatory for each of the two groups to fulfill a duty. He made it obligatory for those who do not know to learn through the path of asking, and He made it obligatory for those who are asked to answer. This verse is explicit in that regard: . The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) confirmed this in the authentic hadith in the Sunan, Sunan Abu Dawud and others, from the hadith of Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a Sariyyah (i.e., he equipped an army to fight in the path of Allah) and appointed an commander over them, as is the Sunnah. A Sariyyah is one that goes on a raid without the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) being with them, unlike a Ghazwah, which is one where the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is their commander and guide. So the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a Sariyyah one day, and they went and fought the disbelievers. Then, when the night spread its darkness and its gloom, and war laid down its burdens, they prayed 'Isha' and then slept. In the morning, they woke up for the Fajr prayer, and one of them found that he had wet dreams, so the full ritual bath became obligatory for him. But he had been struck in the battle with many wounds in his body. So he asked those around him, hoping they would find for him a dispensation not to take the bath but to perform dry ablution. They said: No, you must take the bath. So the man took the bath, and the result was that he died. The heat intensified, and the wounds also rose up in him, and his soul departed in them. He perished. When the news of him reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he became very angry and cursed those who had issued a fatwa to him that dry ablution was not permissible while he was wounded. He (peace be upon him) said: . The point of this hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) admonished those who issued a fatwa to him without knowledge, stating that it was obligatory for them to ask so that their answer would come from the people of knowledge. As for them, since they were not from the people of knowledge, they issued that fatwa to the wounded man out of their ignorance, and their fatwa became the cause of his killing and death. Therefore, among the prescribed means of receiving knowledge is asking, as we mentioned. And as we mentioned in the previous verse, our Lord—Mighty and Majestic—made it obligatory for the second group of the Muslim community, who are the scholars, to answer. It is not permissible for a scholar, if he is asked about an issue and he has knowledge of it, except to answer it, due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) in the famous, authentic hadith: .
And among the etiquettes of asking, we say on this occasion, that the Muslim should ask about what concerns his life, whether his private life with himself, or his family, or those who take refuge in him, or those with whom he has some relationship. And he should not delve into questions about imaginary matters or those that are unlikely to occur. And it is better for the Muslim to engage with reality than to ask about something he imagines. And it does not prevent him to imagine that it might happen. Among the etiquettes of the scholars of the Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) was that if one of them came to himThe questioner : asking him about an issue, the one asked would say: "Did it happen?" If he answered: "Yes," he would answer him with what he had of knowledge. And if he said: "It has not happened yet, it hasn't happened yet," he would say: "Wait until it happens, then ask." And when it happens, it is necessary that Allah—Mighty and Majestic—will make available for the questioner someone to give him a fatwa with knowledge. For this reason, we say that among the etiquettes is that we listen to the questions now and start with the most important, and answer them with what Allah—Mighty and Majestic—has made easy. Reminding you that it is not required of the scholar to answer everything he is asked about. It came in some reports from the Salaf that whoever answers everything he is asked about is a madman. Because, as He said, Exalted is He: . So if we are unable to answer some questions, let no one of you be surprised by that, because that is the nature of humans, whom Allah—Mighty and Majestic—has created with what you heard in the previous verse: . And for this reason, it also came in some reports: "Half of knowledge is 'I do not know.' Bring what you have."