What is the ruling on one who follows a scholar in hadith, such as (Ibn Hajar . . . .)?

The questioner : Is it permissible for a student of knowledge to follow one of the scholars of hadith in ..., such as al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, al-Iraqi, or al-Suyuti?

The Shaykh : There is no difference between a Muslim who follows a scholar in hadith or one who follows a scholar in Islamic jurisprudence; both matters are permissible, indeed obligatory, for the ignorant person, for Allah says: .

The questioner : A student of knowledge ...

The Shaykh : Listen, listen, my brother, until the answer is finished, and then you say what you have, and yet you leave me to cut off my research chain, and I say to you, "A student of knowledge is a scholar?" You will say, "No."

The questioner : Not a scholar.

The Shaykh : And I have already taken the answer beforehand , and here, in truth, lies the error that is now prevalent in this age. That is, a student of knowledge, as soon as he feels that he has surpassed his father or his grandfather, because his father and grandfather were illiterate and knew nothing, he becomes what? A scholar? He imagines that he has become a scholar, while he is still in what? They say that in our region in Sham, in al-Ruqqar, you use the word, is it?

The questioner : No

The Shaykh : Al-Ruqqar refers to the seawater, as you know, the coast is like a sea; wherever you walk, the water is deep. Al-Ruqqar is the first of the water. So this student of knowledge is still in al-Ruqqar, meaning he is still on the edge of the coast. Knowledge is a sea, so he is at the beginning of the coast. Yet many students of knowledge today are afflicted with arrogance and conceit; they raise their heads like this, and their inner state says, as it is said in our Damascus, "O earth, be firm, for no one is upon you." This is strange arrogance, simply because he understood a little.