Introduction before the lesson on the blessing of sacred knowledge and the blessing of understanding the religion and acting upon it, with a mention of some of the etiquettes of the student of knowledge.
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The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: [Ghafir 40:32] And before beginning the exegesis, we present an introduction, asking Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, to make it beneficial.
We say: Among the blessings of Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, upon the servant is that He makes him love knowledge. This is because sacred knowledge is the key to all good, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 1037a
Understanding the religion is knowing the rulings of the Shari'ah from their evidence, and then applying these rulings that one has learned. For whoever does not apply them is not a jurist, but merely a reader. For this reason, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) warned against there being many readers and few jurists. The jurist in the religion of Allah is the one who knows the Shari'ah of Allah and then applies it to himself and to others to the best of his ability.
The student of knowledge bears a great responsibility because he is the intermediary between the creation and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as he conveys the Shari'ah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to his Ummah. Therefore, he must be a good example in his worship, his morals, and his dealings. If he is a good example in these matters, the knowledge will bear its noble fruits for him. And because if he is an example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this, people will love him, befriend him, and follow his example, and he will become an imam. Even if he is not a great imam, he is an imam according to his status. The more a person increases in knowledge and adherence to what he has learned, the more people will respect him and follow his example, making him their model.
Furthermore, the student of knowledge must be sincere to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his seeking. For sincerity is the most important thing, and it is through it that the servant achieves what he desires. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) pointed to a part of this when he said: "There is nothing to compare with knowledge for one whose intention is sound" They asked: How is the intention made sound? He said: "He intends by it to remove ignorance from himself and from others" This is undoubtedly part of making the intention sound, but it is not the entirety of it. There are other things that must also be observed, namely that he intends by seeking knowledge to obey the command of Allah, the Exalted and Sublime. For Allah commanded knowledge and encouraged it, saying:[Muhammad 47:19] And He said: [Al-Mujadila 58:11] This is something observable. Show me a merchant, from the greatest merchants in the era of the four Imams, who attained the elevation in status that these four Imams attained. You will not find a way to that. The people of knowledge are elevated in the sight of Allah, and elevated in the sight of the servants. They are elevated in their lifetimes, and elevated after their deaths. Even if someone suffers from torture, harassment, or the like, he increases in elevation in the sight of Allah and in the sight of the people because of it.
So if you intend by your seeking of knowledge to obey the command of Allah, every movement you make in this field becomes worship. If you review the lesson, it is worship; if you memorize, it is worship; if you walk, it is worship. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) thatSahih Muslim 2699a This is a matter that is often hidden from us. We often review books to verify a certain issue, but it is hidden from us that we are currently in a state of worship, hoping for the reward of Allah. But if the student of knowledge keeps in mind that he is obeying the command of Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, by seeking knowledge, his seeking of knowledge becomes worship.
The second is that he intends by seeking knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah, because the Shari'ah is preserved by its men. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the preservation of the Shari'ah is through the scholars, its men. So intend by your seeking of knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah. And what a good man you are if you are a repository for the Shari'ah of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
The third is that he intends by his seeking of knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it, because the Shari'ah has enemies who openly declare their enmity, and enemies who hide from people but do not hide from Allah, while He is with them, as they plot what is not pleasing of speech. It has enemies, so you intend by your seeking of knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it. And if this is the purpose of the student of knowledge, he will choose the direction from which the enemies of the Muslims are attacking. Accordingly, he must be aware of what is happening in the arena.
And O my people, indeed I fear for you the Day of Calling -
ويا قوم إني أخاف عليكم يوم التنادWe say: Among the blessings of Allah, the Exalted and Sublime, upon the servant is that He makes him love knowledge. This is because sacred knowledge is the key to all good, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He upon whom Allah intends to bestow goodness, He confers upon him an insight in religion
من يرد الله به خيرا يفقهه في الدينUnderstanding the religion is knowing the rulings of the Shari'ah from their evidence, and then applying these rulings that one has learned. For whoever does not apply them is not a jurist, but merely a reader. For this reason, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) warned against there being many readers and few jurists. The jurist in the religion of Allah is the one who knows the Shari'ah of Allah and then applies it to himself and to others to the best of his ability.
The student of knowledge bears a great responsibility because he is the intermediary between the creation and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), as he conveys the Shari'ah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to his Ummah. Therefore, he must be a good example in his worship, his morals, and his dealings. If he is a good example in these matters, the knowledge will bear its noble fruits for him. And because if he is an example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this, people will love him, befriend him, and follow his example, and he will become an imam. Even if he is not a great imam, he is an imam according to his status. The more a person increases in knowledge and adherence to what he has learned, the more people will respect him and follow his example, making him their model.
Furthermore, the student of knowledge must be sincere to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in his seeking. For sincerity is the most important thing, and it is through it that the servant achieves what he desires. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) pointed to a part of this when he said: "There is nothing to compare with knowledge for one whose intention is sound" They asked: How is the intention made sound? He said: "He intends by it to remove ignorance from himself and from others" This is undoubtedly part of making the intention sound, but it is not the entirety of it. There are other things that must also be observed, namely that he intends by seeking knowledge to obey the command of Allah, the Exalted and Sublime. For Allah commanded knowledge and encouraged it, saying:
So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin
فاعلم أنه لا إله إلا الله واستغفر لذنبكAllah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees
يرفع الله الذين آمنوا منكم والذين أوتوا العلم درجاتSo if you intend by your seeking of knowledge to obey the command of Allah, every movement you make in this field becomes worship. If you review the lesson, it is worship; if you memorize, it is worship; if you walk, it is worship. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that
he who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah would make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him
من سلك طريقا يلتمس به علما سهل الله له به طريقا إلى الجنةThe second is that he intends by seeking knowledge to preserve the Shari'ah, because the Shari'ah is preserved by its men. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Indeed, Allah does not take away knowledge by extracting it from the hearts of men, but He takes it away by the death of the scholars. Until when people do not find scholars to ask for rulings, they ask ignorant people, and they issue rulings without knowledge, so they go astray and lead others astray
إن الله لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا من صدور الرجال، ولكن يقبضه بموت العلماء حتى إذا لم يجد الناس علماء يستفتونهم استفتوا أناسا جهالا فأفتوا بغير علم فضلوا وأضلواThe third is that he intends by his seeking of knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it, because the Shari'ah has enemies who openly declare their enmity, and enemies who hide from people but do not hide from Allah, while He is with them, as they plot what is not pleasing of speech. It has enemies, so you intend by your seeking of knowledge to protect the Shari'ah and defend it. And if this is the purpose of the student of knowledge, he will choose the direction from which the enemies of the Muslims are attacking. Accordingly, he must be aware of what is happening in the arena.