What Kind of Student Are You?

In the Name of Allaah…

Scenario:

A student actively attends an important lesson regularly, takes notes, and tries not to miss anything. He gets there early to get a good seat to make sure he can hear clearly. If someone asks him something in the lesson, he merely gestures for him to ask later. His phone is always on silent, he pays no attention to it during the lesson. Whatever people want from him, he will attend to it after the lesson. He is focused on the lesson entirely. He asks follow-up questions.

Another Scenario:

A student attends the same important lesson regularly, but he does not take notes. He does not get there early, and so he sits in the back. If someone asks him something in the lesson, he responds and helps. He points out the direction of the bathroom… he may even explain who the shaykh is to a new student. His phone is active, he occasionally answers calls or reads and responds to text messages. Since he misses much of the content of the lesson, he does not ask follow-up questions.

If years go by and the student continues upon the path mentioned in the first scenario, then we have the makings of a serious student, maybe even a scholar eventually, and Allaah is the One who grants success.
If years go by and the student continues upon the path mentioned in the second scenario, then we have another brother who “studied”.
Would you believe that the two scenarios are describing the same student?

Its a common before-and-after case for a student who bought or was given an audio recording device.

It is common that when the recorder is used, the student relaxes, he doesn’t take notes, its “all there in the recording”, I’ll review it later, I’ll take notes when I listen to it, I’ll even transcribe it later… And the Shaytaan has slipped in, in the most deceptive of ways, and taken him far away from what will benefit him, by getting him to rely on that recorder. In the end, he’s got loads of recordings that are way too many for him to begin to review, and under the pressure of a university system, he has no time to go back and study them, until perhaps his studies are over. Then, he listens to them, but now he’s like everyone else in the West, listening to audio recordings, he’s not a student of knowledge in a study circle with the scholars. He had the chance to be one, but he let it slip away.

While the technology we have been blessed with can serve our religious goals in many ways, this is a very subtle point that needs to be highlighted regarding the use of audio recordings at Islaamic lessons. This applies more directly to students of knowledge in the Muslim lands studying under the scholars.

Advice: Don’t use a recording device. Sit at the feet of your shaykh, and watch his lips! Try not to miss a word. Don’t miss a class. Phone is on silent or off. Pen in hand. Book or text on your lap. Material previewed before the lesson. Your notes reviewed with a good student after the lesson. There is no safety net! You must get that knowledge at that sitting, or you will miss it! This approach is many times more effective than attending to record the lecture.
If you feel you have that safety net, you will very likely let your guard down and become lazy at the lesson, to one degree or another, so beware of the subtle tricks of your sworn enemy! Who would have thought that Shaytaan could use a voice recorder at a scholar’s lesson against you?!

And Allaah knows best.

Writtten by Moosaa ibn John
Richardson

Ash-Shaykh Bin Baaz, rahimahullah, said :

” فإن الإنسان إذا كان ﻻ يحضر حلقات العلم وﻻ يسمع الخطب وﻻ يعتني بما ينقل عن أهل العلم فإنه تزداد غفلته وربما يقسو قلبه حتى يطبع عليه ويختم عليه فيكون من الغافلين ”

“For surely if the person doesn’t attends the circles of knowledge nor does he listen to the sermons given and he doesn’t give attention to what is being quoted from the people of knowledge then indeed he will increase in heedlessness and perhaps his heart will become hard to the point it (i.e. his heart) will become sealed, therefore will be amongst the heedless ones”

📚مجموع فتاوى (324/12)

Reference : Majmoo Fataawa (12/324).

A Side Note : It’s already heavy on the heart living in the land of kufr, so imagine how heavier it can be on the heart living here without attending the circles of the remembrance of Allah in the mosques.

May Allah enable our hearts to be attached to the gatherings of His remembrance.

How do you Purify your Intention When Seeking Knowledge

By Shaykh Saalih ibn Uthaymeen (rahimahullah)

So if someone says to you: How does ikhlaas in seeking knowledge come about? It comes about through a (number) of matters:

1 – It is that in doing that (seeking of knowledge), you have as your intention that you are complying with Allaah’s command because Allaah, the Most High, commanded with that (seeking of knowledge). So He said:

“Have knowledge that none has the right to be worshipped except Allaah. And seek forgiveness for your sin.”

(Surah Muhammad, 47:19)

And he (sallAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) encouraged [us] upon knowledge; and encouraging upon a matter necessitates loving it and being pleased with it and commanding with it.

2 – It is that in doing that, you intend to preserve the Sharee’ah (Islamic legislation) of Allaah, because preserving the Sharee’ah of Allaah occurs through learning, and it comes about through preserving [it] in the chests [of people], and it comes about through writing down, writing down the books.

3 – It is that in doing that, you intend to protect the Sharee’ah and defend it, because were it not for the people of knowledge, then the Sharee’ah would not have been protected and no one would have defended it. And therefore you find, for example, Shaykh ul Islaam ibn Taymiyyah and other than him from the people of knowledge who resisted and blocked the people of innovation and clarified the false and futile nature of their innovations, we see that they (these people of knowledge) attained a great deal of good.

4 – It is that in doing that, your intention is to be following the Sharee’ah of Muhammad (sallAllaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) because you are not able to follow his Sharee’ah until you have knowledge of this Sharee’ah.

[Original Source: The Explanation of the Etiquette of Seeking Knowledge of Shaykh al Uthaymeen, 

Protection of Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

If you attain status, then remember that the rope that helped you to reach it was seeking knowledge.
So by the grace of Allaah, and then due to your knowledge, you reached whatever status you have reached in this post, or fatwa, or judiciary post , and so on,so give knowledge
its due respect and fair share of implementation, and its due status.

Beware of the way of those who do not show reverence towards Allaah, those who base their foundation upon protecting their status, so their tongues become enwrapped from speaking the word of truth, and they are led to act accordingly by the love of their status.
Therefore adhere to preserving your value by preserving your piety, knowledge, and self-esteem, with wisdom and good diplomacy:

“Preserve Allaah and He will preserve you”, “Preserve Allaah at times of ease, He will preserve you at times of hardship”

If you are dismissed from the burden of responsibility – and this is your path even after a long period – then no harm is done, for it is a praiseworthy expulsion, and not one of blameworthiness and degradation .

It is an astonishing affair that those who have been prevented from a large proportion of prosperity do not have adherence, repentance, or do they return to Allaah except after retirement, and even though such people’s repentance is religiously valid, is like the faith of the old commoner, because his benefit is not passed on (to the people).

As for [his character during his] period of employment you will find him to be amongst the most evil and harmful of people, or too cold-hearted and dumb in speaking the truth.

I seek refuge in Allaah from such humiliation .

Ref: The Etiquette of Seeking Knowledge : By the Noble Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd (Rahimuhullaah)

The purpose of seeking knowledge

Shaikh Ibn Baaz رحمه الله said:

❝The seeker of Knowledge should seek knowledge to benefit himself, and to get rid of his ignorance, and to come closer to His Lord, and to please Him – upon sure knowledge; and to benefit the people, taking them from darkness to light, deciding their problems, making terms of peace among them, teaching the ignorant among them, guiding those who are astray, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, and so on. ❞

[Majmoo` Fataawa Ibn Baaz (7/204)]

Preservation (of knowledge)

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Do your utmost to preserve the knowledge by implementing it and following it. Al- Khateeb said: “It is incumbent upon the seeker of knowledge to purify his intention in seeking knowledge, and it should be achieving the pleasure of Allaah. He Should beware of making it a way to achieve materialistic gain, and a way of gaining [worldly] compensation; for the penalty of such has been set aside for the one who seeks that with his knowledge.
He should beware of boasting or showing off with it , and making his intention in seeking hadeeth for the sake of leadership, and to gain following or to summon gatherings ( Where hadeeths are narrated) , for these were the flaws that some scholars fell into.

He should preserve hadeeth by paying attention to it , and not just by narrating it , for the (verbal) narrators of knowledge are many and those who preserve it (by action) are few , and many-a-time a person who is present ( physically and absent mentally) is as good as absent person, and a knowledgeable person is as good as an ignorant person, and a carrier of hadeeth who has nothing of it in his possession due to his rejection of its rulings is on the same level as one does not know it or rejects learning it.

The seeker of hadeeth should also be distinguished in his general affairs from the common people by implementing the narrations of the Messenger of Allaah (  ) as much as he can , and implementing the traditions upon himself; for verily Allaah said:
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِیْ رَسُوْلِ اللّٰهِ اُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
[Soorah al- Ahzaab (33;): 21]

“indeed in the messenger of Allaah  you have a good example”
Ref: The Ettiquette of Seeking Knowldge

By: The Noble Shaykh Bakr Abu Zayd ( Rahimullaah )

ذا تكلم طالب العلم فيما لا يحسنه , أو ترك الأخذ عن المشايخ وتكبر عليهم , وتكلم بقضايا تجتمع هيئة كبار العلماء من أجل البث فيها , يتكلم بها هكذا من أم رأسه دون تروٍّ ولا أناة ولا حلم , ودون نقل عن العلماء المتقدمين والمتأخرين , هذا هو التعالم نعود بالله من ذلك .

If the student of knowledge begins to speak about matters of which he excels not in, or abandons taking knowledge from the mashaayikh (the scholars), and becomes arrogant in turning to them, and speaks about affairs which the committee of the major scholars would (probably) come together upon to propagate a ruling for. (And) while he just speaks about it like that, from his head without any form of consideration or patience or forbearance, he doesn’t quote any past or later scholars, then this is pretending to have knowledge, while we seek refuge with Allah from that.

فينبغي لطالب العلم أن يعرف قدر نفسه ويتق الله عز وجل …كذلك الأدب في الألفاظ عندما يقول : قال شيخ الإسلام , وقال ابن القيم , وقال الشيخ فلان .. فلا ينبغي أن يقول عنده : قلت , أو الذي أرجحه , أو الذي أراه , أو هذا عندي , كما قيل :

So, it is appropriate that the student of knowledge knows his level and fears Allah. Likewise, he should possess manners in his wordings, when he says Shaykhul Islam said and Ibnul Qayyim said and Shaykh so-and-so said. It is not appropriate for him to then say ‘I hold’ or that ‘which I consider a stronger opinion’ or that ‘which I see’ or this is ‘my view’, as been said (by a poet):

يقولون هذا عندنا غير جائز *** فمن أنتم حتى يكون لكم عندُ

‘They say our view is ‘this is not permissible’ *** So who are you to have a view’

نسأل الله عز وجل أن يصلح قلوبنا وأن يرزقنا التواضع لله وممن نتعلم منه .

We ask Allah azza wajall to recifty our hearts and that He grants us humbleness for Him and for those who we are learning knowledge from

Reference: The Tape ‘Akhlaaq Taalibil Ilm’ on min 49:20.

قال الإمام ابن جماعة رحمه الله :
Al Imaam Jamaa’a -may Allaah have mercy on him-

ينبغي لطالب العلم أن لا يخالط إلَّا من يفيده أو يستفيد منه ،
It is upon the student of knowledge that he does not mix with except who benefits him or that he benefits from him.

فإن تعرَّض لصحبة مَن يُضيِّع عمره معه ولا يُفيده ولا يَستفيد منه ، ولا يُعينه على ماهو بصدده ،
If he is exposed to friendship to he whom with him he will waste his life, does not benefit him nor benefit from him, and does not help him to what his purpose is.

فلْيَتَلَطَّفْ في قَطع عِشرته من أوَّل الأمر قبل تَمَكّنها ،
Then let him be gentle in his disconnecting his companionship from the beginning before it intensifies.

فإنَّ الأمور إذا تمكَّنت عسرت إزالتها.
For verily the affairs when they intensify its removal becomes difficult.

فإن احتاج إلى من يصحبه فلْيكُنْ صاحباً صالحاً دَيِّناً تَقيِّاً وَرِعاً ذَكِيَّاً ،
So if it’s needed to take a friend let him be a friend who is righteous, practicing, devout, fear of Allaah and intelligent.

كثير الخير ، قليل الشر ،
حسن المداراة ، قليل المماراة
إن نسيَ ذكَّرَه ،
وإن ذَكَرَ أعانَه ،
وإن احتاجَ واساه ،
وإن ضَجِر َصبَّره” .
Lots of good, little evil.
Good at responding with gentleness, little quarrelling.
If he was to forget (something) , he would remind (him with it).
If he would remember (something) , he would help (with it).
If he would need something, he would provide ( it).
If he would become angry/annoyed, he would (advice) him with patience.

(📚 تذكرة السامع والمتكلم ص٨٣ ).

Translated by abu Abdirahman ashingaani