In the hadith of Abu Hurayrah regarding his statement, "I used to ask them to recite the verse while I had it with me so that they would take me along," does this appear to be seeking knowledge with the intention of something from this world in a state of dire necessity?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : The hadith of Abu Hurayrah in his statement: This appears to be seeking knowledge with the intention of something from this world in a state of dire necessity...
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Seeking knowledge to ward off a worldly harm, which is hunger, as he said in the first hadith, meaning he came... in a state of extreme hunger. So, one does not cite this as an example of a person who wants a degree for the sake of knowledge, but rather so that he can, for example, teach. Even if the original purpose of his seeking knowledge is religious, if he were given the choice between studying Shari'ah and not studying at the university, would he study at the university?
The Shaykh : He does not want to seek knowledge because the man is a scholar, but he wants, as if it is their custom or something similar, that when someone asks them to recite, they take him to their house to read it in his house. He did not want to seek knowledge because he knew it, and he had previously sworn that he knew more from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab than the man did. As for the intention of obtaining a degree in seeking knowledge in order to teach, this is a desire for good, not a desire for this world, because now the degree has an effect in enabling a person to teach. If a person were like Ibn Taymiyyah and did not have a degree, he would not be enabled to teach. I do not know if Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah would come and say, "I am your father, do you allow me to teach in elementary school?" They might say to him, "You do not have a degree, we do not accept you."
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Hmm, yes, that is correct. This is above the university, may Allah have mercy on him. But the intention is that now the matter is based on the degree. So if a person says, "I want to obtain the degree in order to be able to teach and benefit creation, or to be in a position where I benefit people with it," his intention is good.
The questioner : ... it does not enter...
The Shaykh : No, it does not enter, it does not enter, yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : How is that?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, but we did not let him in. And if he had entered and after entering he said, "Do you allow him to stay or go?" Yes, a little weak, yes, thank you.
I used to ask them to recite the verse while I had it with me so that they would take me along.
كنت أتستقرأ الآية وهي معي كي ينقلبوا بيThe Shaykh : How?
The questioner : Seeking knowledge to ward off a worldly harm, which is hunger, as he said in the first hadith, meaning he came... in a state of extreme hunger. So, one does not cite this as an example of a person who wants a degree for the sake of knowledge, but rather so that he can, for example, teach. Even if the original purpose of his seeking knowledge is religious, if he were given the choice between studying Shari'ah and not studying at the university, would he study at the university?
The Shaykh : He does not want to seek knowledge because the man is a scholar, but he wants, as if it is their custom or something similar, that when someone asks them to recite, they take him to their house to read it in his house. He did not want to seek knowledge because he knew it, and he had previously sworn that he knew more from 'Umar ibn al-Khattab than the man did. As for the intention of obtaining a degree in seeking knowledge in order to teach, this is a desire for good, not a desire for this world, because now the degree has an effect in enabling a person to teach. If a person were like Ibn Taymiyyah and did not have a degree, he would not be enabled to teach. I do not know if Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah would come and say, "I am your father, do you allow me to teach in elementary school?" They might say to him, "You do not have a degree, we do not accept you."
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Hmm, yes, that is correct. This is above the university, may Allah have mercy on him. But the intention is that now the matter is based on the degree. So if a person says, "I want to obtain the degree in order to be able to teach and benefit creation, or to be in a position where I benefit people with it," his intention is good.
The questioner : ... it does not enter...
The Shaykh : No, it does not enter, it does not enter, yes.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : How is that?
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Yes, but we did not let him in. And if he had entered and after entering he said, "Do you allow him to stay or go?" Yes, a little weak, yes, thank you.