Does the student of knowledge who wants to specialize in hadith begin with the sciences of the Shari'ah and the tools of hadith, or does he begin with the science of hadith?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : As for the student of knowledge, meaning the one who wants to specialize in the science of hadith, the best thing first is that he should master the sciences of the Shari'ah and the tools of hadith, and then devote himself to working on hadith. He should not enter the science of hadith [without that foundation].
The Shaykh : Before anything else, he must know what is forbidden and what is lawful, and understand the rulings that are necessary for him. Because devoting oneself to the science of hadith is a collective obligation; if some people fulfill it, it is lifted from the rest. However, correcting the creed, correcting worship, and correcting behavior are individual obligations for every Muslim. So if one acquires these matters and masters them, and then devotes himself to what is a collective obligation, that is good. But if he occupies himself with the collective obligation while neglecting the individual obligation, that is like the saying: "It is like one who builds a palace and demolishes a city." The answer is clear.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : As for memorizing the *Alfiyyah* of al-Iraqi.
The Shaykh : What do you have to do with *Malik* and the *Alfiyyah* of al-Iraqi? Where are you, and where is the *Alfiyyah* of al-Iraqi, if you have understood the answer?
The questioner : I understood. It is upon you, but in the future, if Allah wills, meaning for the one who works on hadith.
The Shaykh : The future will impose itself on you as an obligation. It is like what they say in Syria: "When we go to it, we will speak about it now." Do not look up, up, up, because the pyramids are not built except brick by brick, step by step.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : You studied *Mustalah* from Shaykh Abdul Qadir that...
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: All right.
The Shaykh : Before anything else, he must know what is forbidden and what is lawful, and understand the rulings that are necessary for him. Because devoting oneself to the science of hadith is a collective obligation; if some people fulfill it, it is lifted from the rest. However, correcting the creed, correcting worship, and correcting behavior are individual obligations for every Muslim. So if one acquires these matters and masters them, and then devotes himself to what is a collective obligation, that is good. But if he occupies himself with the collective obligation while neglecting the individual obligation, that is like the saying: "It is like one who builds a palace and demolishes a city." The answer is clear.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh: All right.
The questioner : As for memorizing the *Alfiyyah* of al-Iraqi.
The Shaykh : What do you have to do with *Malik* and the *Alfiyyah* of al-Iraqi? Where are you, and where is the *Alfiyyah* of al-Iraqi, if you have understood the answer?
The questioner : I understood. It is upon you, but in the future, if Allah wills, meaning for the one who works on hadith.
The Shaykh : The future will impose itself on you as an obligation. It is like what they say in Syria: "When we go to it, we will speak about it now." Do not look up, up, up, because the pyramids are not built except brick by brick, step by step.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : You studied *Mustalah* from Shaykh Abdul Qadir that...
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh: All right.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.