What are the means and reminders that assist students of knowledge in seeking knowledge?

The questioner : We ask you, may Allah reward you, to benefit us with some of the means and reminders that will help us in seeking knowledge. And Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.

The Shaykh : It is obligatory to read the books of the scholars who follow the methodology of the Salaf, based on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The most famous of these are the books of Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, and those who followed their path and way, such as al-San'ani, the author of "Subul al-Salam: Sharh Bulugh al-Maram," and al-Shawkani in his book "Nayl al-Awtar: Sharh Muntakha al-Akhbar." And so on. Finally, we advise, for the purpose of understanding the religion, to read two books: one is more authentic than the other in terms of the strength of the argument and evidence. That book is by Sa'id Hasan Khan: "al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah: Sharh al-Durar al-Bahiyyah." "al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah: Sharh al-Durar al-Bahiyyah," because this "al-Durar al-Bahiyyah" is a text by Imam al-Shawkani, in which he selected the rulings from the Book and the Sunnah without following any of the established schools of jurisprudence, whether they be from the people of the Sunnah, the Zaydiyyah, the Shi'ah, or similar groups. The commentary, which is "al-Rawdat al-Nadiyyah," provides the evidence for every issue mentioned by al-Shawkani in this concise text. The second book is "Fiqh al-Sunnah" by Sayyid Sabiq. This book, according to the custom of the youth in the present age, is smooth and easier to understand than the first book. "Fiqh al-Sunnah" by Sayyid Sabiq is well-known, but it is inferior to the first in terms of knowledge. Therefore, I found a gap one day, so I wrote a part called "Tammam al-Mannah fi al-Ta'liq 'ala Fiqh al-Sunnah." This can be used to reach the truth in matters where people differ. This is with regard to jurisprudence. With regard to hadith related to morals and what is called today "behavior," I recommend the book "Riyad al-Salihin" by Imam al-Nawawi, specifically the first edition published by the Islamic Office, which contains my tracing of its hadiths and clarification of what is authentic and what is not. With regard to "al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib," it is the book of Imam al-Mundhiri, especially since I extracted the authentic hadiths from it in the first printed part titled "Sahih al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib." This should also be acquired to know what is authentic in "al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib" from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). As for everything else, such as creed and fatwas, and the like, you should turn to Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him).