A person who desires to seek religious knowledge but is prone to distraction, overthinking, and forgetfulness, and does not memorize easily except after a long period, knowing that
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : A person who desires to seek religious knowledge but is prone to distraction, overthinking, and forgetfulness, and does not memorize easily except after a long period of time, knowing that he spends his time in beneficial things such as: listening to religious tapes, the Holy Qur'an radio broadcasts, and lectures. So what do you advise such a person to do, may you be rewarded, and with which books should he start?
The Shaykh: I say to the brother, do not despair of the mercy of Allah, and let him persevere in seeking knowledge. The distraction that befalls him may be turned back by Allah the Exalted.
And I advise him first: to start with the Book of Allah the Exalted, memorize it, then reflect upon it to understand its meanings, and then act upon it.
Second: with what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of hadiths, such as *Umdat al-Ahkam* by al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, which is famous and widely circulated in people's hands.
Then with the book *Tawhid* by the Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him). Then with *Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah* by the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
The first, meaning the book *Tawhid*, is regarding what concerns worship, and the second is regarding what concerns the names and attributes of Allah, belief in the Last Day, and other matters.
Then with the Islamic jurisprudence followed by the people of his country.
And let him choose from the scholars one who is broader in knowledge and more mindful of Allah the Exalted, because some people are broad in knowledge but weak in mindfulness of Allah, and some are strong in mindfulness of Allah but weak in knowledge. Let him choose one who has much knowledge and strong mindfulness of Allah, as much as possible.
The Shaykh: I say to the brother, do not despair of the mercy of Allah, and let him persevere in seeking knowledge. The distraction that befalls him may be turned back by Allah the Exalted.
And I advise him first: to start with the Book of Allah the Exalted, memorize it, then reflect upon it to understand its meanings, and then act upon it.
Second: with what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) of hadiths, such as *Umdat al-Ahkam* by al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi, which is famous and widely circulated in people's hands.
Then with the book *Tawhid* by the Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him). Then with *Al-'Aqidah al-Wasitiyyah* by the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah.
The first, meaning the book *Tawhid*, is regarding what concerns worship, and the second is regarding what concerns the names and attributes of Allah, belief in the Last Day, and other matters.
Then with the Islamic jurisprudence followed by the people of his country.
And let him choose from the scholars one who is broader in knowledge and more mindful of Allah the Exalted, because some people are broad in knowledge but weak in mindfulness of Allah, and some are strong in mindfulness of Allah but weak in knowledge. Let him choose one who has much knowledge and strong mindfulness of Allah, as much as possible.