The virtue of seeking knowledge over other deeds.

The Shaykh : For this reason, we see that seeking knowledge today is the best of the deeds that benefit creation. It is better than charity and better than jihad; in fact, it is jihad itself, because Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) made it equivalent to jihad in the path of Allah. This is not the kind of jihad that is tainted by doubts and where people question the sincerity of the mujahideen’s intentions. It is the true jihad, where one knows with certainty that the mujahideen are fighting so that the word of Allah is the supreme one. You find them, for example, applying this principle to themselves before they fight others. The true jihad in the path of Allah, in which the fighters fight so that the word of Allah is the supreme one, is equated with seeking Islamic knowledge. The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: meaning that they were not to all go out to jihad together. meaning that a group remained behind. So Allah made seeking knowledge equivalent to jihad in the path of Allah—the true jihad, which is known by the circumstances and the state of the mujahideen to be one where they desire that the word of Allah be the supreme one.
So the important point is that the paths to good are many, and in my view, the best of them after the obligations that Allah has made obligatory is seeking Islamic knowledge. Because today we are in dire necessity of it. We have heard and received a fatwa from a person who says that whoever prays in the mosques of such-and-such a country, their prayer is not valid, because among those who donated to these mosques are such-and-such people. And whoever prays according to the adhan, their prayer is not valid. Why? Because it is based on timing that is not based on seeing the sun. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But now, the times are written on papers and people follow them. He says that all of these people’s prayers are not valid, meaning that, in his claim, the prayers of all Muslims are not valid. This is such confusion. And the problem is that I am told this is a man who has some knowledge, but it is the knowledge of papers, where a person is given a card certifying that he graduated from such-and-such or such-and-such, and then he says, "Who am I?"
So the result is that the Muslim community must have scholars who are firmly grounded in knowledge. It is necessary that things not remain in such chaos, for it is a great danger. People’s religion will not be stable, and their hearts will not be at ease. It becomes a situation where everyone under a tree issues a fatwa, everyone under a roof issues a fatwa, and everyone on a mountain peak issues a fatwa. This is not correct. There must be scholars who have firm, stable knowledge based on the Book and the Sunnah, and on reason and wisdom. And success is from Allah.