The Shaykh’s sermon on the virtue of knowledge and seeking it.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : O servants of Allah, seek knowledge, for seeking knowledge is among the best of deeds because of the high objectives it contains, especially in our time when ignorance has increased and the pursuit of knowledge has increased, along with the competition for it. In this time, there are many readers who know the texts but few jurists who act upon them. The fruit of knowledge is action and calling people to Allah with it. Whoever does not act upon his knowledge, his knowledge becomes a burden upon him. And whoever does not call people to it, his knowledge is deficient for him.
O my brothers: Act upon what you have learned, for indeed, whoever acts upon what he has learned, Allah the Exalted will teach him what he did not know. Allah the Exalted said:[Muhammad 47:17] And whoever leaves off acting upon what he has learned, he is likely to have the knowledge removed from him, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah 5:13] And in the transmitted wisdom: "Knowledge calls out to action; if it responds, it stays, otherwise it departs" And it was said: "Bind knowledge with action, just as you bind it with writing".
O people, O those eager to seek knowledge, there are two paths to attaining knowledge:
The first is to receive it from reliable books written by scholars who are approved for their knowledge and their trustworthiness.
The second is to receive it from a teacher who is reliable in knowledge and religion. This path is safer, faster, and more solid for knowledge, because the first path—the path of receiving from books—may lead the student astray without him knowing, either due to poor understanding, deficiency in his knowledge, or something else.
And because in the second path, which is receiving from a teacher, there is discussion and exchange of views, great doors open for the student in understanding and verification, and in how to defend correct statements and refute weak ones.
If the student combines both paths, receiving from books and from teachers, that is light upon light. Let the student begin with the most important matters, and with the concise works of the sciences before the lengthy ones, so that he progresses from one level to the next, not ascending to a level until he has mastered what is below it, so that his path is sound. Many students like to take a lot of knowledge, but it does not settle in their hearts because there is no discussion or follow-up in it, so what they have gained is lost. Therefore, the student of knowledge should make his knowledge firm and solid, and that is through discussion and attention to what he has learned. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the review of the Qur'an, because reviewing it preserves what a person has grasped. But if he collects and collects without verification and solidification, he may lose all the knowledge.
O people, seeking knowledge is a collective obligation. Seeking knowledge is a collective obligation. So the one who fulfills it fulfills an obligation, and he is rewarded with the reward of an obligation. And no one draws closer to Allah with something He loves more than what He has made obligatory upon him. For this reason, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Reviewing [knowledge] on a night is more beloved to me than standing in prayer on that night" meaning that if students of knowledge discuss matters of knowledge on a night, that is better than the late-night prayer in it, i.e., better than prayer, because knowledge is the best thing with which a person performs voluntary acts. And as we said, it is a collective obligation, so the one who fulfills it fulfills a collective obligation.
However, if a person needs a type of it, that type becomes an individual obligation upon him. For example, if a person wants to perform ablution, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to perform ablution. And if he wants to pray, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to pray. And if he has wealth, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to pay its zakah. And if he wants to fast, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to fast and what he fasts for. And if he wants to perform Hajj, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to perform Hajj, so that he worships Allah with insight and proof. And so it is with all the obligations in the religion; it is obligatory upon whoever wants them to learn them. I ask Allah for you and for me beneficial knowledge, accepted righteous action, and a good, abundant provision that makes us self-sufficient in it from others and does not make us arrogant in His worship. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And all praise is due 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.
O my brothers: Act upon what you have learned, for indeed, whoever acts upon what he has learned, Allah the Exalted will teach him what he did not know. Allah the Exalted said:
And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.
والذين اهتدوا زادهم هدى وآتاهم تقواهمSo for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded
فما نقضهم ميثاقهم لعناهم وجعلنا قلوبهم قاسية يحرفون الكلم عن مواضعه ونسوا حظاً مما ذكروا بهO people, O those eager to seek knowledge, there are two paths to attaining knowledge:
The first is to receive it from reliable books written by scholars who are approved for their knowledge and their trustworthiness.
The second is to receive it from a teacher who is reliable in knowledge and religion. This path is safer, faster, and more solid for knowledge, because the first path—the path of receiving from books—may lead the student astray without him knowing, either due to poor understanding, deficiency in his knowledge, or something else.
And because in the second path, which is receiving from a teacher, there is discussion and exchange of views, great doors open for the student in understanding and verification, and in how to defend correct statements and refute weak ones.
If the student combines both paths, receiving from books and from teachers, that is light upon light. Let the student begin with the most important matters, and with the concise works of the sciences before the lengthy ones, so that he progresses from one level to the next, not ascending to a level until he has mastered what is below it, so that his path is sound. Many students like to take a lot of knowledge, but it does not settle in their hearts because there is no discussion or follow-up in it, so what they have gained is lost. Therefore, the student of knowledge should make his knowledge firm and solid, and that is through discussion and attention to what he has learned. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded the review of the Qur'an, because reviewing it preserves what a person has grasped. But if he collects and collects without verification and solidification, he may lose all the knowledge.
O people, seeking knowledge is a collective obligation. Seeking knowledge is a collective obligation. So the one who fulfills it fulfills an obligation, and he is rewarded with the reward of an obligation. And no one draws closer to Allah with something He loves more than what He has made obligatory upon him. For this reason, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Reviewing [knowledge] on a night is more beloved to me than standing in prayer on that night" meaning that if students of knowledge discuss matters of knowledge on a night, that is better than the late-night prayer in it, i.e., better than prayer, because knowledge is the best thing with which a person performs voluntary acts. And as we said, it is a collective obligation, so the one who fulfills it fulfills a collective obligation.
However, if a person needs a type of it, that type becomes an individual obligation upon him. For example, if a person wants to perform ablution, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to perform ablution. And if he wants to pray, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to pray. And if he has wealth, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to pay its zakah. And if he wants to fast, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to fast and what he fasts for. And if he wants to perform Hajj, it is obligatory upon him to learn how to perform Hajj, so that he worships Allah with insight and proof. And so it is with all the obligations in the religion; it is obligatory upon whoever wants them to learn them. I ask Allah for you and for me beneficial knowledge, accepted righteous action, and a good, abundant provision that makes us self-sufficient in it from others and does not make us arrogant in His worship. Indeed, He is capable of all things. And all praise is due 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.