Clarification that seeking knowledge is a form of jihad in the path of Allah, and that the student of knowledge is entitled to receive from zakah.
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The Shaykh : And is seeking knowledge part of jihad in the path of Allah, brother? What did you say?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : All right, is seeking knowledge part of jihad in the path of Allah? We say yes, seeking knowledge is part of jihad in the path of Allah. For this reason, if a person comes to us who is able to earn a living through buying and selling, craftsmanship, or otherwise, and says to us, "If you give me from the zakah, I will leave earning a living and seek knowledge, but if you do not give me from the zakah, I must earn a living and abandon seeking knowledge," we say, "Seek knowledge, and we will guarantee you from the zakah what is sufficient for you," even though one who is able to earn a living is not given from the zakah. But this is for the sake of dedicating himself to what? To seeking knowledge. And seeking religious knowledge is part of jihad in the path of Allah. So the student of religious knowledge is like a soldier in the field. In fact, some scholars preferred seeking religious knowledge over jihad and said that preserving the Shari'ah is through knowledge, and defending the Shari'ah is through knowledge and weapons. Therefore, seeking knowledge is better than jihad with weapons because it involves preserving the Shari'ah and defending it. What does jihad with weapons have? It defends it, but it has no connection to preserving the Shari'ah, except by way of necessity. And if we consider what Allah the Exalted mentioned at the end of Surat al-Nur, or rather what Allah mentioned in Surat al-Bara'ah:[At-Tawbah 9:122] This means it was not lawful for the believers to go out all together for jihad, but rather they should divide into a group that goes out and a group that remains to learn. So when the fighting group returns, the group that has studied jurisprudence warns them. Thus, Allah the Exalted made seeking knowledge and jurisprudence in religion equal to jihad in the path of Allah. But we must know that seeking knowledge is like jihad in terms of the sincerity of intention, in that the student of knowledge should seek knowledge in order to preserve the Shari'ah and defend it, not to thereby obtain rank and salary. If his intention is to obtain rank and salary, then he is among those who seek the worldly life with his deed, and he has no share of the reward of the Hereafter. All right, we have two men: one is able to earn a living and says, "Give me from the zakah so I can dedicate myself to seeking knowledge," and the other is able to earn a living and says, "Give me from the zakah so I can dedicate myself to worship, to prayer, fasting, and reading the Qur'an." Which one do we give to?
The student: The first one.
The Shaykh : The first one. Why? Because the first one, who dedicates himself to seeking knowledge, dedicates himself to an act that extends beyond himself, whose benefit extends beyond himself, benefiting the Shari'ah and benefiting the Muslims. And the one who dedicates himself to worship dedicates himself to what? To an act that is limited, which does not extend beyond himself. And there is an apparent difference between them. All right, and in the path of Allah.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : All right, is seeking knowledge part of jihad in the path of Allah? We say yes, seeking knowledge is part of jihad in the path of Allah. For this reason, if a person comes to us who is able to earn a living through buying and selling, craftsmanship, or otherwise, and says to us, "If you give me from the zakah, I will leave earning a living and seek knowledge, but if you do not give me from the zakah, I must earn a living and abandon seeking knowledge," we say, "Seek knowledge, and we will guarantee you from the zakah what is sufficient for you," even though one who is able to earn a living is not given from the zakah. But this is for the sake of dedicating himself to what? To seeking knowledge. And seeking religious knowledge is part of jihad in the path of Allah. So the student of religious knowledge is like a soldier in the field. In fact, some scholars preferred seeking religious knowledge over jihad and said that preserving the Shari'ah is through knowledge, and defending the Shari'ah is through knowledge and weapons. Therefore, seeking knowledge is better than jihad with weapons because it involves preserving the Shari'ah and defending it. What does jihad with weapons have? It defends it, but it has no connection to preserving the Shari'ah, except by way of necessity. And if we consider what Allah the Exalted mentioned at the end of Surat al-Nur, or rather what Allah mentioned in Surat al-Bara'ah:
And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious.
وما كان المؤمنون لينفروا كافة فلولا نفر من كل فرقة منهم طائفة ليتفقهوا في الدين ولينذروا قومهم إذا رجعوا إليهم لعلهم يحذرونThe student: The first one.
The Shaykh : The first one. Why? Because the first one, who dedicates himself to seeking knowledge, dedicates himself to an act that extends beyond himself, whose benefit extends beyond himself, benefiting the Shari'ah and benefiting the Muslims. And the one who dedicates himself to worship dedicates himself to what? To an act that is limited, which does not extend beyond himself. And there is an apparent difference between them. All right, and in the path of Allah.