Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allāh. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allāh from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allāh guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allāh misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no god except Allāh. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger, may blessings and peace be upon him and upon his family and companions.
To proceed:
Among the matters that Islam takes seriously is seeking knowledge. For the first word Allāh revealed to Rasūl Allāh ﷺ was "Read!" There are many āyāt and aḥādīth that point to the importance of seeking knowledge in Islam.
From the Qur’ān:
"Say, Are those who know and those who do not know equal?'" (Qur’ān 39:9)
"Only the knowledgeable of His slaves fear Allāh." (Qur’ān 35:28)
"Allāh raises those of you who believe and those who have been given knowledge whole degrees." (Qur’ān 58:11)
From the aḥādīth:
"Allāh and His angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, the very ant in its anthill, and the fish bless those who teach people what is good." ((Narrated by al-Tirmidhī)
"When a human being dies his work comes to an end except for three things: ongoing charity, knowledge benefited from, or a pious son who prays for him." (Narrated by Muslim and Abu Dāwūd)
"Whoever travels a path seeking knowledge Allāh makes easy for him a path to paradise." (Narrated by Muslim)
Know that of the most important categories of knowledge is the personally obligatory knowledge. This is the knowledge you need to fulfil your obligations. Examples are wuḍū’, prayer, fasting, etc., and their method, conditions for validity of the act of worship, integrals, nullifiers, and so on. This knowledge is obligatory upon every single Muslim to know. So before you start studying more advanced aspects of the dīn, make sure you've got your basics right. Don't jump. You wouldn't do that with worldly knowledge, would you? It's like learning algebra before even knowing how to solve 2+2.
It is also obligatory for one to know what is permissible and what is unlawful of food, drink, clothing, and so forth, of things one is unlikely to be able to do without.
Now, there is a mentality amongst some Muslims that one shouldn't bother about worldly studies and focus on studying Islam alone. But this is not the correct attitude; Islam's encouragement to seek knowledge is applied in the broad sense. Islam encourages the seeking of beneficial worldly knowledge, and in many cases it can even become obligatory. We can see if we look back at history, during the European Dark Ages, where Muslims were making significant advances the the fields of science, technology, mathematics and the arts.
When seeking knowledge, one must ensure that one have proper adab with one's teachers. This is especially true for those with knowledge of the dīn, the mashāyikh and the ʿulamāʾ. They must be especially respected as they are the inheritors of the prophets (`alayhim as-salāh wa al-salām), as stated by the Prophet ﷺ himself. I remind you – and this reminder is first and foremost for myself – that when seeking knowledge, you must do so with humility. Have arrogance and you'll find no barakah in your knowledge. We must keep in mind the fact that our knowledge is only a speck of dust compared to the Knowledge of Allāh. Just like how Allāh Himself is beyond limits, similarly His Knowledge is beyond limits, and this is something we should keep in perspective when seeking knowledge. After all, Allāh says:
To proceed:
Among the matters that Islam takes seriously is seeking knowledge. For the first word Allāh revealed to Rasūl Allāh ﷺ was "Read!" There are many āyāt and aḥādīth that point to the importance of seeking knowledge in Islam.
From the Qur’ān:
قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ
يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ
From the aḥādīth:
إن الله وملٰٓئكته وأهل السمٰوات والأرض حتى النملة في جحرها وحتى حوت ليصلون على معلمي الناس الخير
إذا مات الأنسان انقطع عمله إلا من ثلاث: صدقة جارية، أو علم ينتفع به، أو ولد صالح يدعو له
وَمَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا إلَى الْجَنَّةِ
Know that of the most important categories of knowledge is the personally obligatory knowledge. This is the knowledge you need to fulfil your obligations. Examples are wuḍū’, prayer, fasting, etc., and their method, conditions for validity of the act of worship, integrals, nullifiers, and so on. This knowledge is obligatory upon every single Muslim to know. So before you start studying more advanced aspects of the dīn, make sure you've got your basics right. Don't jump. You wouldn't do that with worldly knowledge, would you? It's like learning algebra before even knowing how to solve 2+2.
It is also obligatory for one to know what is permissible and what is unlawful of food, drink, clothing, and so forth, of things one is unlikely to be able to do without.
Now, there is a mentality amongst some Muslims that one shouldn't bother about worldly studies and focus on studying Islam alone. But this is not the correct attitude; Islam's encouragement to seek knowledge is applied in the broad sense. Islam encourages the seeking of beneficial worldly knowledge, and in many cases it can even become obligatory. We can see if we look back at history, during the European Dark Ages, where Muslims were making significant advances the the fields of science, technology, mathematics and the arts.
When seeking knowledge, one must ensure that one have proper adab with one's teachers. This is especially true for those with knowledge of the dīn, the mashāyikh and the ʿulamāʾ. They must be especially respected as they are the inheritors of the prophets (`alayhim as-salāh wa al-salām), as stated by the Prophet ﷺ himself. I remind you – and this reminder is first and foremost for myself – that when seeking knowledge, you must do so with humility. Have arrogance and you'll find no barakah in your knowledge. We must keep in mind the fact that our knowledge is only a speck of dust compared to the Knowledge of Allāh. Just like how Allāh Himself is beyond limits, similarly His Knowledge is beyond limits, and this is something we should keep in perspective when seeking knowledge. After all, Allāh says:
وَلَا يُحِيطُونَ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنْ عِلْمِهِ إِلَّا بِمَا شَاءَ
"...and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills." (Qur'an 2:255)
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