Tell us about the importance of Islamic knowledge for the student of knowledge, what is the best method for the student of Islamic knowledge, and what is obligatory for him regarding the memorization of the Qur'an

The questioner : Your Eminence, tell us about the importance of Islamic knowledge for the student of knowledge. What is the best method for the student of Islamic knowledge? And what is obligatory for him regarding the memorization of the Noble Qur'an? And how can we understand Islamic creed, especially if a person is alone and has no one to help him in that regarding the matter of the attributes and names of Allah, Mighty and Majestic?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. Seeking Islamic knowledge is an individual obligation for every Muslim, but it is of two types: the first is an individual obligation, and the second is a collective obligation.
As for the individual obligation, it is obligatory for every Muslim to learn from the Shari'ah of Allah what he needs to understand. For example, if he has wealth, it is obligatory for him to learn what are the types of wealth in which zakah is obligatory? What is the amount of the obligatory zakah? What are its conditions? And who are the recipients of it? So that he worships Allah the Exalted with knowledge and insight. And if he is a merchant, it is obligatory for him to learn from the rulings of his trade what helps him to apply his trade according to the principles of the Shari'ah. If he is an overseer of endowments, it is obligatory for him to learn from the rulings of endowments what helps him to perform his duty, and so on.
As for the collective obligation: it is the rest of the Islamic sciences. The Muslim community must preserve its religion by learning its rulings. Therefore, every student of knowledge is considered to be fulfilling a collective obligation, and he is rewarded for his seeking with the reward of an obligatory duty. This is good news for the students of knowledge that they are, while seeking knowledge, fulfilling one of the obligatory duties of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. It is well known that fulfilling the obligatory duties is more beloved to Allah the Exalted than fulfilling the voluntary acts, as established in the authentic Qudsi hadith: .
As for the manner of seeking knowledge, a person begins with what is most important, and the most important thing is the knowledge of the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and its understanding. This is based on the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): meaning that He (Mighty and Majestic) rebuked them for not reflecting upon the speech of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: Reflection is the understanding of the meaning. For this reason, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did not move past ten verses until they learned them, along with the knowledge and practice contained therein. Then comes what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of his sayings, actions, and approvals. Then comes what the scholars have written, which they derived from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). At the head of these scholars, and in their forefront, are the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), for they are the best of generations, as stated in the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). They are the people closest to understanding the Book of Allah and the understanding of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). One should begin with the concise texts before the lengthy ones, for the seeking of knowledge is like a ladder to the roof; a person begins with the first rung and then climbs step by step until he reaches the goal. My saying "until he reaches the goal" does not mean that a person can encompass all things with knowledge; this is not possible. until knowledge ends with Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But one begins with the most important, then the next most important, and begins with the concise texts before the lengthy ones. The best we see in the chapter of the Names and Attributes among the concise books is *Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah* by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, for it is a concise, easy, comprehensive, and beneficial creed. Most of what it contains regarding the attributes of Allah comes from the Noble Qur'an. As for how to utilize these proofs, the correct path and sound methodology is for a person to take them according to their apparent meaning that is befitting of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), taking them as their apparent meaning indicates, but without likening Allah to creation or asking how an attribute is. If one reads the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) addressing Iblis: he believes that Allah has two hands in reality, not in a figurative sense. But it is not permissible to say: "Their manner is such and such," nor to say that they are like the hands of created beings. That is, he does not liken them to creation and does not ask how they are. Similarly, if one reads the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): he affirms for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) fingers in reality, but does not liken them to creation or ask how they are. He does not say: "The fingers of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are like the fingers of created beings," nor does he imagine a specific attribute in his mind for these fingers. The proof for this is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) addressed us in the Qur'an in the Arabic language, so what the wording indicates by the requirement of the Arabic language is affirmed. As for His saying (Mighty and Majestic): and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made clear that He revealed the Qur'an and made it in the Arabic language so that we might comprehend and understand it. This is the rule in Allah's sending of the messengers: He (Mighty and Majestic) sends them in the language of their people to make things clear to them. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: So we take the verses of the attributes according to what the Arabic language requires, but we do not liken them to creation or ask how they are. As for the prohibition of likening them to creation, it is because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forbade us from making any likeness for Him, saying: And He (Mighty and Majestic) informed us that there is no likeness for Him, saying: And He (Mighty and Majestic) said: With these verses, it becomes clear that it is not permissible for us to liken the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to anything. As for the prohibition of asking how they are, such as saying "the manner of His hand is such and such" or "the manner of His fingers is such and such," it is due to the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): and His saying (Mighty and Majestic): It is well known that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed us of His attributes but did not inform us of their manner. If we try to ask how they are, we become among those who have fabricated a lie against Allah. This is the rule in the chapter of the Names and Attributes of Allah. If someone says to you: "The intended meaning of the hands is mercy or power," you say with ease: "This is false, for this is contrary to their meaning in the Arabic language, and the Qur'an was revealed in the Arabic language. We do not accept this distortion of a text's meaning except with evidence from the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger or the sayings of the Salaf." And if someone says to you: "The intended meaning of Allah's rising above the Throne is His dominion over it," you say: "This is false, for rising above a thing does not mean dominion over it in the Arabic language, and the Qur'an was revealed in the Arabic language. The meaning of rising above a thing in the language is being above it with a specific elevation, not the absolute, general, comprehensive elevation." And if someone says to you: meaning that the reward of Allah remains, you say: "This is false, for Allah described the Face with majesty and honor, saying: And the one who has the attribute of the Face... and it is well known that reward is not described as having majesty and honor. If you proceed on this methodology, you will be safe from misguided religious innovations. For the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned against religious innovations, saying: And it is amazing that these distorters who say "the intended meaning of the hand is mercy or power," "the intended meaning of the Face is reward," and "the intended meaning of rising above is dominion" claim that they did this to purify Allah from what is not befitting Him. In reality, by doing this, they have described Allah with what is not befitting Him. They have informed about something that, in their view, is not correct, so in the speech of Allah there is either lying or deception and obscuring of the truth for creation. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: And He (Mighty and Majestic) says: So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has made clear to us in the Qur'an everything, especially what concerns His Names and Attributes. He (Mighty and Majestic) has explained it sufficiently and comprehensively, and it does not need the analogical reasoning of these people, which they claim is rational but is actually imaginary and illusory. Then I advise whoever wants to seek knowledge to choose a shaykh (scholar or teacher) in whom he has confidence in his knowledge and in his religion, whose creed is sound, whose methodology is sound, and whose direction is straight. For the student will be a copy of his teacher. If Allah grants him a sound, straight teacher, he will follow his path. And if the other is the case, he will deviate just as his teacher deviated. If it happens that he is unable to reach such a teacher described by what we mentioned, the matter has become broad, and praise be to Allah, in recent times the voices of scholars have reached the farthest parts of the world via tape. So he can read from the teacher what he hears from the tape, and note down what is difficult for him in the speech, and consult the speaking teacher about it, either by phone, by fax, or by correspondence. So everything is facilitated, and praise be to Allah. It is well known that receiving knowledge from a shaykh is closer to acquisition, faster, and safer from error. For this reason, we find that those who rely on merely reading books make many mistakes and do not reach the goal of knowledge except after a long time. But in case of necessity, there is nothing wrong with relying on books and tapes and the like, on the condition that these tapes and books are from one who is trustworthy in his knowledge, religion, and methodology.

The questioner : May Allah bless you.