The Honorable Shaykh, what advice do you give to the beginner student of knowledge?
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The questioner : The Honorable Shaykh! May Allah preserve you. What advice do you give to the beginner student of knowledge?
The Shaykh : I advise the beginner student of knowledge to stick to a specific shaykh (scholar or teacher) in whom he trusts his knowledge and integrity, and not to scatter his mind between so-and-so and so-and-so. As long as he is convinced that this shaykh has the knowledge, integrity, and trustworthiness to be relied upon, let him stick to him. If it happens that this shaykh does not have the knowledge the student needs, let him seek another shaykh to study that specific knowledge only. For example, suppose he sticks to a person for the knowledge of 'aqidah (creed) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), but that person does not have knowledge of grammar. Then he goes to another shaykh; he does not read 'aqidah and fiqh from him, but reads what? Grammar. Because perhaps the statement of this shaykh and the other shaykh might conflict, leaving the student in confusion and scattering his mind. This is the advice.
The second piece of advice: He should start with the smaller matters of knowledge before the larger ones. He should begin with concise, clear books before ascending to the books above them. If we assume he wants to read in fiqh, he should read concise books in fiqh, such as Zad al-Mustaqni' for example, and not read the larger books above it, because that will waste him. It is like a man learning to swim anew; does he go to the deep water or not? No, he starts with the shallow, little by little, until he learns.
Third: He should strive to apply everything he learns. If he learns that prayer is obligatory, he prays. If he learns that dutifulness to parents is obligatory, he is dutiful to his parents. If he learns that greeting with salam is a recommended practice (sunnah), he gives the salam. If he learns that helping a person with his mount is good, he helps him mount it, or helps him carry his luggage. If he learns that it is good, he does it.
Because when a person applies the knowledge, Allah the Exalted bequeaths to him knowledge he did not know before. There is no better path to acquiring knowledge than acting upon it. And read the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Muhammad 47:17] When they guided themselves with knowledge, Allah increased them in knowledge and increased them in taqwa (mindfulness of Allah). He gave them their taqwa. This is lacking in many students of knowledge. Many students of knowledge took the knowledge theoretically, not practically. You find in them a great deal of strength in memorization, memory, argumentation, and disputation, but they are negligent in action. This is a great danger, because if a person does not act upon the knowledge, his knowledge becomes a burden upon him, without doubt. His knowledge becomes a burden upon him, but perhaps it will be removed from him, as He the Exalted said: [Al-Ma'idah 5:13] For this reason it was said: "Knowledge calls out to action; if it responds, it stays, otherwise it departs". "Calls out" means: it summons. It summons action. If it responds, otherwise the knowledge departs.
Fourth: He should be devoted to knowledge, not getting tired, weary, or exhausted. And if he gets tired, he rests to the extent that his energy returns to him. Because Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for, asking Allah to make him understand the religion and teach him interpretation (ta'wil), used to follow the people until it was said: He comes at the time of the midday nap, and the one seeking knowledge from him has fallen asleep. So he would use his cloak as a pillow and sleep at the threshold of his door without waking him. When he woke up, he asked him for the hadith. He said to him: "O cousin of the Messenger of Allah, do you stay at my door?" He said: "I am a person in need, and I do not wake you from your sleep", "And it was said to him: How did you attain knowledge? He said: I attained knowledge with an inquiring tongue, an understanding heart, and a body not weary of it". And witnessing to this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Sahih al-Bukhari 5033 Perseverance is important.
Some students are, as the common people say: a cow's sprint. The cow runs fast, fast, but soon it becomes exhausted and stops. Some students are active at first and then get tired, and then they regress.
So among the important matters: A person should be patient in seeking knowledge and persevering. Memorize this, if Allah wills, and if you forget it, then you must have a recording tape.
The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : No, no, from the right. With justice the heavens and the earth were established.
The Shaykh : I advise the beginner student of knowledge to stick to a specific shaykh (scholar or teacher) in whom he trusts his knowledge and integrity, and not to scatter his mind between so-and-so and so-and-so. As long as he is convinced that this shaykh has the knowledge, integrity, and trustworthiness to be relied upon, let him stick to him. If it happens that this shaykh does not have the knowledge the student needs, let him seek another shaykh to study that specific knowledge only. For example, suppose he sticks to a person for the knowledge of 'aqidah (creed) and fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), but that person does not have knowledge of grammar. Then he goes to another shaykh; he does not read 'aqidah and fiqh from him, but reads what? Grammar. Because perhaps the statement of this shaykh and the other shaykh might conflict, leaving the student in confusion and scattering his mind. This is the advice.
The second piece of advice: He should start with the smaller matters of knowledge before the larger ones. He should begin with concise, clear books before ascending to the books above them. If we assume he wants to read in fiqh, he should read concise books in fiqh, such as Zad al-Mustaqni' for example, and not read the larger books above it, because that will waste him. It is like a man learning to swim anew; does he go to the deep water or not? No, he starts with the shallow, little by little, until he learns.
Third: He should strive to apply everything he learns. If he learns that prayer is obligatory, he prays. If he learns that dutifulness to parents is obligatory, he is dutiful to his parents. If he learns that greeting with salam is a recommended practice (sunnah), he gives the salam. If he learns that helping a person with his mount is good, he helps him mount it, or helps him carry his luggage. If he learns that it is good, he does it.
Because when a person applies the knowledge, Allah the Exalted bequeaths to him knowledge he did not know before. There is no better path to acquiring knowledge than acting upon it. And read the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And those who are guided - He increases them in guidance and gives them their righteousness.
وَالَّذِينَ اهْتَدَوْا زَادَهُمْ هُدىً وَآتَاهُمْ تَقْوَاهُمْSo 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
فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِمْ مِيثَاقَهُمْ لَعَنَّاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا قُلُوبَهُمْ قَاسِيَةً يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ وَنَسُوا حَظّاً مِمَّا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِFourth: He should be devoted to knowledge, not getting tired, weary, or exhausted. And if he gets tired, he rests to the extent that his energy returns to him. Because Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), who the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed for, asking Allah to make him understand the religion and teach him interpretation (ta'wil), used to follow the people until it was said: He comes at the time of the midday nap, and the one seeking knowledge from him has fallen asleep. So he would use his cloak as a pillow and sleep at the threshold of his door without waking him. When he woke up, he asked him for the hadith. He said to him: "O cousin of the Messenger of Allah, do you stay at my door?" He said: "I am a person in need, and I do not wake you from your sleep", "And it was said to him: How did you attain knowledge? He said: I attained knowledge with an inquiring tongue, an understanding heart, and a body not weary of it". And witnessing to this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
Commit yourself to the Qur'an, for by Him in whose Hand is my soul, it is surely more prone to break away than a camel in its bind.
تعاهدوا القرآن فوالذي نفسي بيده لهو أشد تفصياً من الإبل في عقلهاSome students are, as the common people say: a cow's sprint. The cow runs fast, fast, but soon it becomes exhausted and stops. Some students are active at first and then get tired, and then they regress.
So among the important matters: A person should be patient in seeking knowledge and persevering. Memorize this, if Allah wills, and if you forget it, then you must have a recording tape.
The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : No, no, from the right. With justice the heavens and the earth were established.