Guidance in Seeking Knowledge

Morden Islamic centre have held a series of lectures on the ‘’Building Blocks of Life’’. These are notes that I have taken during the sessions and Insha'Allah this will be a great benefit to you. The notes below are my own notes and may not represent the views of the speaker.

Tuesday 12th January 2010

The aim of this session was to receive guidance on how to seek knowledge.

There are drops of water on a small rock causing erosion and this is how a hole is formed. The rock represents the heart and the water represents knowledge. As hard as the rock may be, the water can still penetrate.

STEP ONE:
Purify your intention by seeking knowledge from Allah.
A sincere seeker of knowledge, however, receives great blessings from Allah (azawjal). Narrated Abu Hurairah (RA): Allah’s Apostle (SAW) said, “He who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah will make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him and those persons who assemble in one of the houses (mosques) of Allah, recite the Book of Allah and learn and teach the Qur’an (among themselves). There will descend upon them tranquillity, mercy will cover them, the angels will surround them and Allah will mention them in the presence of those near Him. (Sahih Muslim: Book 34, #6518).

This intention can be a hidden form of worship and you are able to seek Allah (azawajal)’s pleasure from every act.

Dedicate worship to Allah alone otherwise it become s a form of bid’ah (innovation) and a source of despair.

Narrated Abu Hurairah (RA): “…Then there will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur’an. He will be brought, Allah will make him recount his blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Then Allah will ask: What did you do (to requite these blessings)? He will say” I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur’an, seeking Thy pleasure. Allah will say: You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called “a scholar”, and you recited the Qur’an so that it might be said: “He is a Qari” and such has been said. Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire…” (Sahih Muslim: Book 19, #4688)

Students of knowledge do not seek leadership when seeking knowledge, purify yourself otherwise you will be pushed off the straight path. We’re asking Allah (swt) to guide us to the path of righteousness as mentioned in Surah Fathiha, verse 5.

“Guide us to the straight path” [1:5]

STEP TWO:
Listen and Listen carefully. The emphasis of listening and silence for hearing and understanding. We have been given two ears and one mouth; therefore you must reduce your speaking.

Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Whosoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, let him say what is good or remain silent.” (Bukhari)

Example of the best students:
Special students are not the cleverest students but they are chosen because of their behaviour towards their teacher. The teacher then gives them extra lessons and teaches them extra points. To be one of the best students acquire etiquette.
The clever student’s attitude is ‘I’m a smart ass’; these students talk too much and listen less.

STEP THREE:
Understanding and practicing the hadith leads to memorisation
If you want to remember the hadith, then act upon the hadith because most people forget that knowledge needs to be attained with action.
It’s important that you take benefit of youth when the mind is fresh and seek company of those who seek knowledge themselves.

The Prophet (saws) gave an excellent example explaining the consequences of keeping company of both good and evil people. He (saws) said:
“The example of a righteous and evil companion is like one who carries perfume and another who is a blacksmith. As for the one who carries perfume, he will either give you some perfume, you might buy some, or (at least) you will find a pleasing scent with him. As for the blacksmith, either he [the blacksmith] will burn his clothes, or he will find a hideous odour from him.”
[Sahih-Bukhari]

It’s imperative that the student must avoid gossip and avoid argument. The student must be patient with the teachers, even when the teachers are harsh and bitter. Patience allows the student to have good reasoning and helps the student to adopt etiquette in asking questions.

The worst etiquettes of a student are to test the knowledge of the teacher and create competition between the teachers about knowledge.

STEP FOUR:
Seek knowledge in stages.
When learning hadith about a particular topic, make sure you learn one by one in A-Z order before moving onto the next topic.

Basic advice:
Learn a Qur’anic verse one at a time and learn a hadith one at a time because you can’t gain knowledge all at once but it takes days and nights.
Always be aware of the knowledge that is essential first e.g.
(i) What is halal and haram
(ii) Principles of tafsir
(iii) Tool to require fiqh
A recommended website for more information: http://www.islam21c.com/