Ways of Acquiring 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 from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide, and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.
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As for what follows, the best of speech is the speech of Allah, the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and the worst of matters are their innovations. Every innovation is a misguidance, every misguidance is in the Fire. As for the means of seeking knowledge in the Book and the Sunnah, it is not only through holding scholarly circles and adhering to certain scholars who have been granted a sufficient share of knowledge. Rather, there is another means for those who may not have the opportunity for the first means, which is what our Lord, Blessed and Exalted is He, indicated in His saying: And likewise His saying (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the story of the one who was wounded in his body in a battle that took place between the Muslims and the polytheists. Then, one morning, he was in a state of major ritual impurity, and his entire body was covered in wounds. He asked those around him if they could find for him a dispensation so that he would not have to take a full ritual bath. They answered in the negative, saying, "No, you must take a full ritual bath." That was the extent of their knowledge, and heThe questioner : As it appears, and there is no wonder in that, because he was one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) who were raised under his eye and graduated, as it is said today, from his school. So he obeyed the ruling he was given and took a full ritual bath. The outcome of his affair was that he died because the water he poured over his body raised the heat in it due to the wounds he had, and he died. When the news of this reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he became very angry and said: Here is the point in this hadith: the cure for ignorance is asking. Therefore, if there is among you someone who has not been given the opportunity to seek knowledge, either by attending some of the circles of dhikr and knowledge held by some scholars, if such a means of seeking knowledge is not available to him, then here is the means before you. Your Lord said to you: And before we begin to answer the questions that come to us, it is necessary to remind you of the meaning of the word "dhikr" in this noble verse, lest the meaning of this noble word be confused with the dhikr known among the Sufi groups, who know of dhikr nothing but dancing, as that scholar-poet said: "When will people know in our religion *** That singing is a recommended practice to follow
And that a man should eat like a donkey *** And dance in the gathering until he falls
And they said, 'We were intoxicated with the love of the Divine *** And nothing intoxicated the people but the cups
So it is with the beasts, when they are full *** Their belching and fullness make them dance
Oh, for the intellects and oh, for the wisdom *** Is there no one among you to forbid the innovations?
Our mosques are disgraced by the listening to music *** And honored by the sale of such things."
And another said: "O generation, the worst of generations" I forgot the first half: "O generation of innovation, the worst of generations *** You have brought forth an impossible matter
Did my God say to you in the Qur'an *** 'Eat like the beasts and dance for me'?"
This type is called by some people "dhikr." This dhikr is not what is intended by the previous verse: The Qur'an, as the people of knowledge know, explains part of itself by another part. So the dhikr in this verse is like His saying, the Exalted: "We have sent down the dhikr." It is the Noble Qur'an. Therefore, what is intended here by His saying, the Exalted: means the people of the Qur'an. And one will not be among the people of the Qur'an if he does not believe in the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and does not follow his head to interpret the Book of his Lord with his own opinion, and does not receive its interpretation from the guidance or the Sunnah of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Because whoever does that, meaning whoever interprets the Qur'an with his own opinion and does not receive its interpretation from his Prophet, will not be a believer in the Book of his Lord. Because in this Book, the Lord of Lords says: Thus, the explanation of the dhikr, meaning the explanation of the Qur'an, was undertaken by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The Prophet is the explainer of the speech of his Lord, and the speech of his Lord is explained by his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Therefore, it is not permissible to separate between Allah and His Messenger, between the Qur'an and the explanation of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). To this clear and evident meaning, he (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) pointed in the authentic hadith, with which I conclude my speech. That hadith is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): So whoever separates between the Book and the Sunnah has separated between Allah and His Messenger, meaning he did not believe in Allah nor in His Messenger. Because Allah is the One who said, as you heard: So the dhikr is the Qur'an, explained by the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). On this methodology, we will answer, if Allah wills, what we know the answer to from the following questions.