Questions: Which is more in accordance with the Sunnah: attending the lesson with you, or devoting oneself to worship and remembrance in the last ten days?
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The questioner : Which is more in accordance with the Sunnah: attending the lesson with you, or devoting oneself to worship and remembrance in the last ten days?
The Shaykh : What I see is that a person should do what is best for his heart, for people differ. It may be that his attending a lesson in knowledge leads to his heedlessness and the wandering of his heart and mind away from worship, in which case confining himself to worship is better and more appropriate...
It may also be the opposite; his attendance may increase his faith and knowledge of the ruling of Allah and His Messenger. It may be that the opportunity to learn does not present itself to him at all times, so he strives to seek knowledge. Worship has a specific benefit, while seeking knowledge has a general benefit, so seeking knowledge is better. There is no doubt that if the two are equal, seeking knowledge is better, because seeking knowledge is a type of jihad in the path of Allah. Worship, such as dhikr, reading the Qur'an, and prayer, is a specific worship, and general worship is better. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) even said: "Nothing is equal to knowledge for one whose intention is sincere".
And I say: If Allah wills, if he is able to attend during this brief hour and has the rest of the night and day available, then in my view this is better, especially if he benefits academically from attending the gatherings of knowledge.
The Shaykh : What I see is that a person should do what is best for his heart, for people differ. It may be that his attending a lesson in knowledge leads to his heedlessness and the wandering of his heart and mind away from worship, in which case confining himself to worship is better and more appropriate...
It may also be the opposite; his attendance may increase his faith and knowledge of the ruling of Allah and His Messenger. It may be that the opportunity to learn does not present itself to him at all times, so he strives to seek knowledge. Worship has a specific benefit, while seeking knowledge has a general benefit, so seeking knowledge is better. There is no doubt that if the two are equal, seeking knowledge is better, because seeking knowledge is a type of jihad in the path of Allah. Worship, such as dhikr, reading the Qur'an, and prayer, is a specific worship, and general worship is better. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) even said: "Nothing is equal to knowledge for one whose intention is sincere".
And I say: If Allah wills, if he is able to attend during this brief hour and has the rest of the night and day available, then in my view this is better, especially if he benefits academically from attending the gatherings of knowledge.