Mar 2012 · Mar

The student of knowledge is known for his remembrance of Allaah

The noble scholar, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah stated:

It is binding upon the student of knowledge that he makes apparent the effect of seeking knowledge upon himself in worship and in methodology and in interactions with other people – so that he is known for abundance of acts of worship and turning in recourse to Allaah, the Most High, and reverence and humility in front of Him and perseverance in making remembrance of Him, He the Most High… So let him make manifest the effect of knowledge upon himself in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and turning in recourse to Him and turning repentantly to Him.

And that his heart does not become neglectful of the remembrance of Allaah, for indeed the heart becoming neglectful of the remembrance of Allaah is a cause of disappointment and loss of time and lack of success.

And listen carefully to the statement of Allaah, the Most High:

And do not obey the one whose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance and who follows his desires. And his affair has been lost.

Soorah al Kahf (18) aayah 28

 

“his affair” – meaning his affair in its entirety – is “lost” – there is no blessing in it.

However if a person is constant in remembrance of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, with the tongue and the heart and the limbs, then there occurs in his lifespan blessing and the goodness is plentiful.

And read the statement of Allaah, the Most High:

Indeed in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day there are signs for the people of understanding.

Soorah aale ‘Imraan (3) aayah 190

Meaning – for the people who possess intellect.

Those who remember Allaah standing, sitting and lying down on their sides and who ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Meaning they say:

Our Lord, You have not created this without purpose. How free and far removed are you from doing anything without purpose.[1] Then save us from the punishment of the Fire.

Soorah aale ‘Imraan (3) aayah 191

(Quoted in Wasaayaa wa tawjeehaat li tullaab il ilm p46 to 47 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah, translated by Nasser ibn Najam)

[1] Refer to the Tafseer of at Tabaree rahimahullaah

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Mar 2012 · Mar

Be humble to people who benefit you

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah comments:

Beware of the disease of the tyrants – and it is kibr (pride). And the Prophet sall Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam explained it in the best manner, and it was that pride is arrogance towards the Truth and belittling the people – meaning looking down upon them and having disdain for them…

(And know that) your behaving in an insolent manner towards your teacher is pride. And this behaving in an insolent manner might be upon the tongue and it might be also through being irritable and agitated. A person may be walking along with his teacher whilst strutting in a cocky manner, saying “I did such-and such and I did such-and-such.”

And likewise pride is having aversion towards the person who benefits you from those people who are lesser than you; and this also occurs from some of the students when someone lesser than them in knowledge informs them of something, they have an aversion (to this) and they do not accept it.

(Sharh hilyah taalib il ‘ilm p28 – 29 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah, translated by Nasser ibn Najam )

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Feb 2012 · Feb

Stay away from meetings where there is harmful and non-beneficial speech

WIth regards to the student of knowledge staying away from gatherings of laghw, Shaykh al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah commented:

As for his (the author’s) statement: turning away from gatherings of futile speech…

Then laghw (futile speech) is of two types:

i) laghw which contains no benefit and no harm

And ii) laghw which contains harm

As for the first type – then it is not befitting for a person who has intellect to allow his time to disappear in this because it is (nothing but) loss.

As for the second type – this is something evil; it is forbidden for him to spend his time in this because it is evil and forbidden.

And it is as if the author was taking the interpretation (of this word) upon the second meaning – which is the forbidden laghw. And without doubt, the person is not allowed to sit at gatherings which contain that which is forbidden because Allaah, the Most High, says:

And it has been revealed to you in the Book that if you when you hear the aayaat of Allaah being denied and mocked, then do not sit with them (those people) until engage in speech other than that.

(If you were to stay with them) then you would be just like them.

Soorah an Nisaa (4) aayah 140

So it is obligatory upon whoever sits in a gathering of munkar (evil) to forbid that evil. Then if the situation is rectified, that is what is desired. And if it is not rectified and they (the people) continue upon their evil, then it is obligatory upon him to leave (them).

This is in contrast to what some of the common people falsely believe, saying:

“Indeed Allaah’s Messenger sall Allaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam said: Then if he is not able (to change the evil with his tongue or hand) then let him (hate it) with his heart.” And I hate this evil in my heart.”

And (yet) he is sitting with its people.

So it is said to him:

If you truly were someone who hated it, you would not sit with them – because it is not possible that a person sits in a gathering whilst hating those people in it.

As for something which you hate and (yet) you sit (there) through your own choice, then your claim of hating it is not correct and true.

(Sharh hilyah taalib il ‘ilm p47- 48 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah, translated by Nasser ibn Najam

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Feb 2012 · Feb

Not acting upon knowledge leads to difficulty in remembering it

With regards to the student of knowledge acting upon his knowledge, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah comments:

Therefore it is a must that (he) act upon what he has knowledge of – because if he does not act upon his knowledge he becomes from the first of those who will be burned by the Fire on the Day of Resurrection:

The scholar who does not act upon his knowledge                          

Will be punished before the worshippers of idols

This is one aspect – if he does not act upon his knowledge, it will result in disappointment regarding the knowledge, and no barakah (blessing), and nisyaan (forgetfulness) of the knowledge…  And therefore it was reported from Imaam ‘Alee radi Allaahu ‘anhu that he said: Knowledge calls out for action, so either it is responded to or else it departs…

So what is it that departs? Knowledge, and this is something clear – because if you act upon (your) knowledge, you will remember it each time you act.

And I will strike an example for you – that of a man who knows the description of the salaat (prayer) from the Sunnah. So he begins to act upon it whenever he prays. Will he forget what he has learned? He will not forget because he keeps on repeating it. However, if he were to leave off acting upon it, he would forget. And this is an evidence which can be perceived (by us) – that acting upon knowledge necessitates firmness upon (that) knowledge, and that (the person) does not forget it.

(Sharh hilyah taalib il ‘ilm p24-25 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah, translated by Nasser ibn Najam)

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Feb 2012 · Feb

The student of knowledge has contentment with a simple life

Shaykh Muhammad al Ameen ash Shanqeeti rahimahullaah said:

“Indeed I came from my land – Mauritania – and I have with me a treasure which is hardly found at all with anyone. And it is qanaa’ah (contentment).

And had I wanted high rank, I would have known the path to achieve it. But I do not give preference to this worldly life over the Hereafter. And I do not sacrifice knowledge in order to attain worldly goals.”

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah comments on this statement:

The statement from Shaykh ash Shanqeeti, and the like of him from the people of knowledge, was not intended by them to be a declaration of commendation for themselves.

They only intended by this (statement) to benefit the creation, such that the people would imitate them and that they would be upon this path (of theirs) – because we know this from their condition – meaning the condition of the scholars – and because they did not intend to commend themselves. And they were the people furthest from that.

And he (Shaykh ash Shanqeeti) rahimahullaah, as was mentioned by Shaykh Bakr, was from the people of zuhd. If you were to see him then you would not say anything other than he was from the people of the desert, such that you would find upon him an ordinary cloak, which did not accord with fashion; and likewise the clothes (of his).

And you would not find him giving great attention to his own smartness and that of his clothes – may Allaah have mercy upon him.

(Sharh hilyah taalib il ‘ilm p32 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen, translated by Nasser ibn Najam)

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Feb 2012 · Feb

The student of knowledge has contentment

Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah said:

Adorning oneself with qanaa’ah (contentment) is from the most important of the characteristics of the student of knowledge – meaning that he contents himself with that which Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, has given to him.

And that he does not seek to be from the ranks of the rich and those who live luxuriously – (this is) because you will find some of the students of knowledge, and other than them, wishing to be from the ranks of the rich and those who live in luxury.

So (this person) burdens himself with spending on food and drink and clothing and furniture and then he carries the burden through (taking on) debts. And this is an error.

Rather upon you is qanaa’ah (contentment), for indeed it increases the Muslim (in good).

(Sharh hilyah taalib il ‘ilm p30 -31 of Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al ‘Uthaymeen rahimahullaah, translated by Nasser ibn Najam, checked by Abu Talhah Dawood)

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Feb 2012 · Feb

Shyness can prevent a person from learning his religion

In his khutbah (Friday sermon) two weeks ago, Shaykh Saalih al Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said:

“… and as for the shyness that prevents a person from acquiring knowledge and from asking about that from the affairs of his religion which is unclear to him, this is timidity and not shyness and it is cowardice and it is blameworthy shyness, not the shyness [encouraged] in the religion.”

(Translator Nasser ibn Najam. Arabic taken from http://www.alfawzan.af.org.sa/node/13687. The Shaykh’s weekly khutbahs are uploaded as audios on this website within hours with Arabic transcription.)

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Jan 2012 · Jan

How to approach a long set of Questions and Answers

You need a good few months to work through any of the study guides, although some are longer than others.

If it is your first time studying this way, it is easy to be daunted by the length of these study guides. One way to work through them is to break them down into smaller chunks. If you choose chunks of 5 pages per study session, a 230 page set of questions and answers (for example Lumatul Ittiqaad) would take under a year (46 weeks) to work through.

Each session, you can work through those 5 pages two of three times over. By the third time through, you will know the information well inshaa Allaah, so the next week you can move on to the next 5 pages.

If you are listening to audio lessons that the Q&A accompany, then these are all roughly the same length (normally around 45 minutes), and you can stick to one lesson per study session. At first, it may seem a little unambitious, but consistency is what is important.  Increase it only if you can manage one audio lesson per week.

“The deeds most beloved to Allaah are those that are continuous, even if they be small.” (hadeeth, reported by al Bukhari, Book of Eemaan) so do not be put off by doing things little by little, so long as you are regular – the same hour every week, week after week.

Before you realise it, you will have actually covered a great deal of information inshaa Allaah. You might consider dedicating certain sessions for revision, perhaps every fifth lesson.

I would be interested to hear of your experiences of studying, both the things that worked well for you as well as the things that did not work so well, so that we can all learn from that inshaa Allaah.

May Allaah, the Perfect and Most High, enable us to learn His Religion, act on it, call others to it and be patient upon doing that – aameen.

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Jan 2012 · Jan

Test yourself! A question on the mushriks of our time

Why are the mushriks of our time worse than the mushriks at the time of the Prophet sall Allaahu alaihi wa sallam?

Muhammad ibn Abdil Wahhaab gives one reason in Qawaaidul Arba-ah (The Four Principles). What proof does he bring?

See pages 4, 36, 37 and 53 of the Study Guide for the Four Principles for the answer.

Shaykh Saalih al Fawzaan gives another reason in the explanation. What is it?

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Jan 2012 · Jan

No distractions

This is practical advice now from me. I find that short study sessions work well; about 45 minutes is ideal. Rather than making people bored, it leaves everyone wanting more.

But it only works if that 45 minutes is dedicated solely to study. That means:

  • no mobile phones
  • no young children if possible (e.g. study when they are at school/nursery/playing in the garden)
  • no chatting – it is a study session not a social event
  • no eating and drinking
  • no sorting out papers/books/pencils (do that before the lesson)

45 minutes of intensive study without these distractions is worth many hours of study with these distractions.

And that leaves more time for everything else, inshaa Allaah

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