Is it permissible for a student of knowledge to take a specific shaykh to consult with, or to take more than one shaykh?
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The questioner : Shaykh, is it permissible for a student of knowledge to take a specific shaykh to consult with, or to take more than one shaykh?
The Shaykh : I see that he should take one shaykh as long as he is in the early stages of seeking knowledge, because the shaykhs may differ in their opinions on a certain issue. If he is a beginner in his studies, this will confuse him. So, let him take one shaykh for what he wants to read to him. It is possible for him to take another shaykh, but in a different discipline; for example, he has a shaykh in grammar, a shaykh in jurisprudence, a shaykh in creed, a shaykh in tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and so on. However, I do not advise him to take two shaykhs in jurisprudence, nor two shaykhs in creed. As for grammar, the matter is easy, so even if he takes two shaykhs and they differ with him, it does not matter. But the important thing is that in practical religious matters, he should not take two shaykhs in one discipline, lest their statements differ and he remains wavering.
Therefore, I say to the beginner student of knowledge: do not consult books of scholarly disagreement. For example, do not consult "al-Mughni" or "al-Majmu'" by al-Nawawi, or others in which disagreement is mentioned, as long as he is in the beginning of his studies, because matters will become confused for him, he will remain wavering, and the information will become mixed up. So, as long as he is in the beginning of his studies, let him stick to one shaykh and one book, and not take more than one shaykh in one discipline. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : I see that he should take one shaykh as long as he is in the early stages of seeking knowledge, because the shaykhs may differ in their opinions on a certain issue. If he is a beginner in his studies, this will confuse him. So, let him take one shaykh for what he wants to read to him. It is possible for him to take another shaykh, but in a different discipline; for example, he has a shaykh in grammar, a shaykh in jurisprudence, a shaykh in creed, a shaykh in tawhid (the oneness of Allah), and so on. However, I do not advise him to take two shaykhs in jurisprudence, nor two shaykhs in creed. As for grammar, the matter is easy, so even if he takes two shaykhs and they differ with him, it does not matter. But the important thing is that in practical religious matters, he should not take two shaykhs in one discipline, lest their statements differ and he remains wavering.
Therefore, I say to the beginner student of knowledge: do not consult books of scholarly disagreement. For example, do not consult "al-Mughni" or "al-Majmu'" by al-Nawawi, or others in which disagreement is mentioned, as long as he is in the beginning of his studies, because matters will become confused for him, he will remain wavering, and the information will become mixed up. So, as long as he is in the beginning of his studies, let him stick to one shaykh and one book, and not take more than one shaykh in one discipline. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.