0:12 begin. Alhamdulillah. USA. Islam.
1:21 Welcome to our session where we talk about seeking knowledge and more importantly how to seek knowledge and a practical guide in seeking knowledge. Many of us we are trying to seek knowledge. We are in this noble path. However, we have mistakes. We have shortcomings. We have wrong understandings or we have wrong methodologies that we follow. This is not due to our own choices all the time. This could be due to a lack of knowledge of how to seek knowledge. And therefore with whatever little we know, we wish to share a practical guide,
2:08 a foundational guide whereby you will be able to follow and seek knowledge in a methodological way in a manner which will raise you from basics to an advanced level. We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to accept it from us now. Now the next thing which I wanted to mention is a brief introduction. First of all, who am I? I am your brother and I am only a basic beginner student of knowledge who is trying his best to
2:54 study as much as he can in whatever little time he has left in this duny. And I am not an alim nor am I a scholar nor am I someone of a high status in terms of and definitely definitely I am not someone who is here to give fatwa and things like that right I'm only here as your brother in Islam to try my best to share the tips that I had got for my teachers to share the faults that we have gone through so that we when we seek further knowledge and when you guys start seeking knowledge or continue in your journey of seeking knowledge, you do not make the same mistakes that we
3:39 did. Uh as for me I have studied uh and I am studying locally also studied with mash from Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi, India, Pakistan, UAE and other places. This doesn't make me better than any of you. I'm only a beginner student of knowledge. And so whatever I'm sharing is an advice to myself firstly before you. It's a reminder to myself firstly before you. Now and so that's out of the way. I would want to talk about uh the institution learn Islam.
4:27 We ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless them immensely for allowing this to take place for allowing this giving us the permission to do this and to benefit the people. Um and the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam he says whoever has not thanked the people has not thanked Allah and therefore it is from bad manners that we do not thank the institution learn Islam the people who are managing it the people who are helping in aiding and volunteering and supporting in any way shape or form we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to bless him immensely in this dy and a brief introduction about learn Islam it was founded in 2010 10 by our who likes to call himself a student and his pen name
5:13 is Abuahi and he wanted to provide free and accessible Islamic information and education to everyone on Facebook firstly and now he moved on to the website and WhatsApp and emails and telegram and different platforms under the guidance of reputable those are the those are the people that we should be going back to today with the help of a team of dedicated volunteers. Alhamdulillah, they have about 150,000 subscribers and 25,000 students who participated in more than 45 courses on various topics offered till today and they've been providing different courses free courses of Quran tawa and different
5:58 Islamic sciences. More than 300 people are currently doing the with them and over a thousand students are doing and tilawa with dedicated teachers. We ask Allah subhana wa ta'ala to bless this institution and to allow the institution to grow and benefit the world globally as much as possible. Now and so this brings us to our beginning part of the session. The lecture is going to be divided into 10 parts. All of them will be covered today. So buckle up and be ready to listen carefully. Any questions, please do put them in the chat. We will try to answer all of your questions to the best of our abilities. But remember, we are not here to give fatwa. We are not muis. And more
6:44 importantly, we are only here to give you from what we know. If we don't know, we will leave it to the and so I saw many people the reason why I did this uh I saw many people over my time here uh messaging me even today someone messaged me they said I'm struggling to seek knowledge two people messaged me one was last night one was today you know I I'm a beginner student of knowledge I have this playlist I've got these books I've done this I've done that but I am struggling to seek knowledge I'm struggling to act upon the knowledge that I have I am strugg struggling to do to have a formation. What do I do next? How do I study? How do I advance? I feel like I am repeating myself. I feel like I'm going in circles. And so this is for these kind
7:29 of people and all of us is a reminder that we reform and we rephrase the way we have our thoughts uh in regards to what seeking knowledge even is, what seeking knowledge uh even is. And it's very very important uh that we understand firstly what is knowledge. What are we actually seeking? There's something which we need to really think about it. What is the definition of knowledge? What are we actually seeking? I'll mention five things. Please listen carefully and please note these down. That knowledge is written. He has a chapter in where he talks about the importance of writing down knowledge. The
8:15 wrote down knowledge. Knowledge is preserved through memorizing and knowledge is preserved through writing. You guys are not I hope unless we have some special people here. We are not like Bkari who can sit in a lesson and memorize everything that she said on the spot. We are in need of making notes. And so I ask everyone to engage in this properly. Set your intentions correct. Sit properly. Pay attention. Do not be distracted. Do not do anything other than listening and benefiting. If you cannot commit to it, then if you're busy, then I advise you to leave and come back and watch the recording. This is some this is an this
9:02 is a gathering of knowledge where we're going to talk about the most blessed of things after the the most beneficial of things and so we do not want to be disrespectful in the way we sit in front of the screen. Just because we're online doesn't mean we can sit in our PJs in our beds right we still have to maintain the adab and the mannerisms of a student of knowledge and the gatherings of knowledge. Now firstly the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said in the famous knowledge is the inheritance of the prophets. It's a prophetic inheritance.
9:49 To understand what knowledge truly is, we must first ask what is this knowledge? What did they replace? When we speak about my brothers and sisters, we are not speaking about a degree. We are not talking about a title, a sheh name, a certificate, an that we hang on a wall. Knowledge is something far greater than credentials. Abu Dah reported the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said the scholars are the successes of the prophets. The scholars are the successes of the prophets. Verily the prophets do not pass down gold and silver coins but rather they pass down knowledge. They only impart knowledge. Okay. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam clearly informed us that all of
10:36 the prophets they did not leave behind any gold dinars or silver dirhams. Rather what did they leave behind? They left behind this knowledge. What is this knowledge? This knowledge is the inheritance of the prophets. Whoever takes from the inheritance of the prophets has taken an immense share. This means that when you sit in the gatherings of knowledge, in the gatherings of learning, you are not simply attending a class. You are reaching out to take your portion from the inheritance of the prophets. You are taking out your portion from the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam's legacy. And this immediately reframes the identity of the student of knowledge. Such a person, he's not going to be chasing status. He's not going to be chasing just simple information but he's going to be aspiring to carry what the
11:21 messengers themselves had sallallam right and there's no greater aspiration than that there is no higher aspiration than that the second thing is described as a fine jewel and it's also described a secret act of worship. We often treat knowledge like data something to be stored or downloaded. Nowadays we have PDFs right retrieved on demand right but the scholars they describe this very differently they describe this very differently they tell us that knowledge is a delicate and precious jewel because it's so precious such thing it
12:08 cannot be placed in a dirty container you do not store fine jewelry in a trash bag right for this knowledge is not merely information. It's a valuable thing. It's a very thing. It's from the inheritance of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam. And worship, knowledge is worship. Knowledge is worship. Seeking knowledge is worship. In fact, the scholars they describe this as a secret prayer or they describe this as the worship of the heart. The worship of the heart. Just as your physical prayer it requires this inner act of worship seeking knowledge it requires a purification of the heart. Your physical salah it
12:54 requires a purification of the body. This act of seeking knowledge this act of worship it requires a purification of the heart. And therefore a heart polluted by unchecked desires and arrogance and doubts and and desires and all of these things is not a suitable vessel of knowledge. And inshallah we'll talk about the vessel of knowledge. Right? A lot of the things I say in different parts throughout the lecture might be repeated. It is done intentionally. So don't get bored please. The third thing about knowledge is knowledge is described as the only true bliss. Mentions this in his book. He explains that human happiness comes in three forms. Three forms. Firstly,
13:40 there's the external bliss which is you know your wealth and possessions and clothing which can vanish at any moment by the way. Then we have the second type of bliss which is the bodily bliss which is your health and your time and your strength which also inevitably it fades away with age. Right? And then there's the third type of bliss and that is the bliss of the soul which comes through worship and seeking knowledge. This is the only treasure that never sinks. Even if the ship goes down, as they say, it's the joy of knowing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Knowledge is a joy. Why? Because you know Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You get to know the truth. You get to understand your purpose. It's what elevates the human beyond just mere
14:25 survival in this. Without this kind of knowledge, a person lives only to eat, only to sleep, and only to consume. No different as the Quran describes them as the grazing cattle. Now the fourth thing of knowledge, the fourth understanding and definition of knowledge is that knowledge is a judge over things. Why is knowledge so powerful? They say knowledge is power. Why? Because knowledge is the judge over everything else. Wealth cannot judge knowledge. But however, your knowledge judges the wealth. It tells you how to earn it. It tells you how to spend it. It tells you whether this is going to be beneficial for you or it's going to destroy you. Authority cannot judge knowledge. But knowledge judges authority. It defines
15:10 what is justice and it defines what is terror. It defines what is oppression. What is kindness? And uh they explain that money it decreases when you spend it increases when you give it away. Meaning the more it is taught the more it is grown. The more it is spread, the more it is grown. And knowledge is a true sultan, as they say, an authority by which the truth, it overcomes falsehood every single time. And fifthly, the fifth understanding and definition of knowledge is knowledge is certainty. Knowledge is
15:56 certainty at its core. Knowledge is something to know something as it truly is. What is knowledge? Listen carefully. Knowledge is to know something as it truly is with certainty. So now this is this is one of the main definitions of is the opposite of knowledge is the opposite of ignorance. So in a matter if you have ignorance, if you have uh not a full understanding, not a full comprehension, then that thing that you have is not knowledge. Knowledge is having 100% understanding, 100% comprehension in that specific matter. Otherwise, we don't have knowledge. Does that make sense? We are trying to seek
16:42 knowledge. We're trying to get to knowledge. We're trying to get to the stage of but right now either we are jah we're at the bottom. We know nothing. Oh, we have something known as I kind of know it. Yes, here and there. That kind of a thing. Does that make sense? And so knowledge is to know something as it truly is. Pay attention carefully. Yes. To know something as it truly is with certainty. It's not speculation. It's not opinion and it's not assumptions. And true knowledge is a light that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala places in the heart by which a servant distinguishes the path to Jenna and the path to the fire. When this light enters your heart the dimension the chesty opens. It settles.
17:28 It rejoices. This certainty it produces clarity and steadiness and peace. Now that we understand what knowledge is the thing that we are seeking, we must understand the virtues of knowledge. Why is knowledge special? And so I will divide this into two. Firstly, what does Allah mention in the Quran? And secondly, what is the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam mentions in the hadith? The Quran is an illumination. Once we understand what knowledge truly is, we must ask ourselves why is it so virtuous, why is it so special and what does the Quran talk about us? In the Quran is not treated as a luxury or a career
18:15 path or intellectual hobby. The Quran presents knowledge as an illumination, as a nourishment of the soul, as a light of guidance by which the human being fulfills the very purpose of existence. And knowledge is the bridge that is that is the bridge between the the the and the creator and the creation. Without knowledge, our worship it becomes what? Hollow. Faith becomes fragile. life turns into wondering crazily without any direction. Allah subhana wa ta'ala firstly says and say meaning oh Muhammad my lord increase me in knowledge think about
19:02 this the only ever increase ever commanded by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is knowledge this single verse is enough to establish the unmatched position and rank of knowledge reflect on this deeply Allah subhana wa ta'ala who controls every treasure in the heavens and the earth. He didn't command the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam to ask for anything more. Not for more followers, not for more power, not for more life, not for more wealth, not for more strength, nothing except what? Knowledge. And this is the only thing the seal of the prophets was commanded to seek of and that was knowledge. This teaches us that knowledge has no roof, no ceiling.
19:50 Knowledge has no limits. Wealth, it reaches a limit. Strength, it will fade over time. Beauty, it will go down. But knowledge is the only thing that increases in value over time. Despite receiving from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, despite revealing being in in touch with the angels and and all of these creations, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam, he remained a lifelong student. He was always constantly asking for beneficial knowledge. An increase in in beneficial knowledge. Therefore, seeking knowledge is not a phase. It's not a part of our life. It is a permanent state before we meet Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. Until we meet Allah subhanahu waala. Especially for the youth. This verse, it
20:36 actually redefineses success. If you think about it, true growth is not measured by our followers. Huh? our grades or even our salaries but is by how much one draws closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through understanding Allah subhanahu wa tala which is done through knowledge. The believer never says I know enough. The second thing knowledge and ignorance are never ever equal. Allah subhana t declares Inah Allah says say are those who know they have knowledge equal to those who do not know meaning those who don't have
21:21 knowledge. Look this question is rhetorical right but think about it the impact of this verse the impact of this question is decisive Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala himself dismisses the idea that knowledge and ignorance can ever be equal. Knowledge and ignorance cannot be in the same place. Just as light and darkness cannot coexist, guidance and ignorance can never share the same rank. They can never coexist. Right? Even in worldly matters, even in worldly matters, society values knowledge, right? We can trust someone like a trained surgeon over someone who is just a new surgeon. Right? An educated expert over someone who's a reckless speaker, right? So how about in in terms of knowledge in terms of the soul in terms of the religion right in
22:07 terms of paradise and hellfire how can all of that be left to ignorance it cannot this verse restore seeking knowledge is not a form of arrogance right it's a form of survival those of those people who have arrogance when they're seeking knowledge you're losing out your survival you need it right knowledge he allows the believer to walk through confusion with clarity and through temptation with wisdom. Very important to understand this. The third thing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes knowledge as in the Quran. He says that knowledge erases you beyond the ordinary. Why? Allah subhana wa tala says
22:56 Allah says Allah elevates and raises those who believe amongst you and those who are giving knowledge by many ranks. Faith is the foundation. Is the foundation but knowledge is the thing that will elevate you is the elevator. Right? This verse it makes it clear that not all believers are going to occupy the same station the same rank in the sight of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What separates between them is their knowledge is their understanding. Notice how Allah subhana wa tala uses the word in plural form is singular is the plural form ranks upon ranks. He did not specify a limits and when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not specify the reward of something that reward is
23:41 immensely great. For example, the reward of fasting Allah subhana wa tala says the reward of fasting is upon myself. That means that it's going to be one of the greatest rewards that only Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala he did not specify it right. So it's going to be a very great reward. Same thing here the ranks upon ranks he did not specify it. He did not put a limit. This means the elevation that comes through knowledge it has no boundaries. A person may begin uh as an ordinary believer but when they start learning, reflecting, teaching, Allah subhana t continues to raise them until their name is not only known in the uh in the in the heavens but also becomes known in the earth. Even if it's unknown in the earth, your name is well known amongst
24:27 the angels in in the gatherings of angels. And this uh elevation it manifests in three things. Firstly in the heart through certainty and having tranquility. Secondly in the society where people will trust you and respect you. And thirdly in the hereafter being close to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in in a world that we live in which is obsessed with status. This verse it redefineses honor for us. True elevation doesn't come from fame but it comes from understanding the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and his religion and by living good. The fourth thing as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes knowledge as in the Quran. He says knowledge is basically the root of true all and true fear.
25:16 Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala proclaims Allah says only those who possess knowledge truly fear Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala look at this this verse it reveals one of the most deepest and spiritual truths in Islam that the true fear of Allah we have general fear but true fear of Allah true consciousness of Allah True understanding it comes from knowledge. The word here is the Quran he uses the word is not just fear it's all it's reverence it's humble submission which is firmly rooted into understanding
26:01 understanding the knowledge understanding Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala once you know your lord you'll be able to have true of him but if you don't know your lord how can you have true of him because a person you know he might just have you know he just fears the consequences you know jam I'm going to get punished but only the knowledge They fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala himself, his majesty, his power, his justice, his mercy. The more one learns about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's names and attributes, the more the heart softens and submits. This is why ignorance, it often produces arrogance. While knowledge, it produces humility. The knowledgeable believer, they fear, they sinless, not because they are flawless. They're not flawless. We all
26:46 have flaws. But because they see Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala's presence in every action, they know Allah subhana tala is watching me and they feel it. Yeah. And for those who who of us who are trying to search this concept of spirituality, right, look at this verse. It teaches that having faith alone or emotional faith as they say is not enough. True closeness to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. True spirituality begins by knowing who Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is not by screaming who ha and doing some random vic circles. That's not spirituality. Spirituality is knowing Allah subhana wa tala having true understanding of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. Right? And so therefore we
27:33 say knowledge is not dry information. It is a light. It is a protection. It is a form of elevation. It is the path to Allah subhana wa ta'ala to connect to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and this journey begins with one simple dua my lord increase me in knowledge the next part is the virtues of knowledge from the sunnah in the light of the prophetic sunnah if the Quran establishes the status of knowledge then the sunnah it shows us its living reality right the messenger ofah sallallahu alaihi wasallam he didn't only speak of knowledge. He showed how to act, right? And knowledge is not an abstract virtue. Do do you get it? But it's a divine gift. It's a path to
28:20 salvation. And it's a trust that carries immense honor and responsibility. And inshallah, the hadith will be clear. Firstly, the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says, "Whoever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala intends goodness for, he gives him understanding of the religion." True. And therefore he can say knowledge is a sign that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants good for you. Knowledge is a sign that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants goodness for you. And he establishes the foundational principle which is true understanding of the religion is not earned by intelligence alone. It is a subhana t himself is choosing this goodness for you. Many people throughout
29:06 the world majority of the people they live their lives without tasting this gift of Allah subhana wa tala wanting goodness for you. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala opens the heart of a servant to understand his religion correctly truly from the Quran and the sunnah according to the true understanding of the then what he loves and what he hates and how he is worshiped all of these will be refined it's a clear indication that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala wants good for that person both in this dy and the hereafter knowledge then is not something they just stumble upon It's something that you are invited to and chosen. Remember, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not need me and he does not
29:52 need you. He doesn't need us. He's not in any way, shape or form or need of us. He can replace us. He will replace us if we don't take the opportunity. We are in need of him. We are in need of this knowledge. The second thing, knowledge is a direct path to Jenna. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says whoever travels a path seeking knowledge Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will make that the path to Jenna easy for him right the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam he describes knowledge as a path and it's a path not the path it's a path right and because it requires
30:38 effort and patience and perseverance whichever step you take whichever way you take it physically or mentally. Any step that you take for the sake of knowledge, it is counted. Every class you attend online or in person, every book you open, every struggle to understand what is met by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you are going to be making the path to Jenna smoother and easier. The seeker of knowledge, they walk towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this world and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala prepares their walk towards him in the hereafter. No sincere effort of knowledge is ever wasted ever. Now the third one is seeking knowledge is striving in the path of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala seeking knowledge is
31:23 striving in the path of Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says in the whoever goes out seeking knowledge and is is in the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala until he returns. You know this narration this hadith it elevates the student of knowledge to the rank of those who are doing jihad in the same in the in the in the cause of Allah who are striving for the sake of Allah. As long as the seeker of knowledge, he remains engaged. They are counted amongst those who are defending the religion by preserving the truth by combating ignorance and by guiding others. This is a form of jihad. This is a form of jihad. And this teaches us that seeking
32:11 knowledge is not separate from worship. It's one of its highest forms because jihad is one of the greatest acts of worship. The fourth thing the scholar and the student both the teacher and the student these are the only true ones who are safe. What do I mean? The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says indeed the world is cursed and everything in it is cursed except the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and that which supports it a scholar or a student. This hadith strips away your illusions. This dunya, all its glitters and
32:57 grammarss and attractions has no real value unless it is connected to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala. Notice the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam does not mention a third category. You're either one who learns and who is learning, right? Anything else risks risks being spiritually empty. If you cannot be a scholar, then be a student. If you cannot be a scholar, then be a student. If you think I I'm not I don't have the ability or the time or the or just the you know just I can't be a scholar it's not my thing then be a student of knowledge. If you can't be a student of knowledge then be someone who loves knowledge and loves the people of knowledge but do not be anything other than that. Do not be anything lower than that. The fifth thing knowledge is
33:44 superior to worship without understanding. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says The virtue of the scholar over the worshipper is like my virtue over the least of you. Right? This is not a belittlement of worship. It's not a belittlement of worship. Don't misunderstand. But it's a clarification of our priorities. Worship without knowledge. It may be sincere but it's limited. However, knowledge it preserves the worship. It corrects the worship. It allows it to benefit others. One who does worship, he is worshiping for himself. He's benefiting himself. And the other who worships and teaches to the next generation how to worship, they are benefiting themselves and
34:31 others. And so this is the difference between just a mere worshipper and someone who is a knowledgeable worshipper. And so we should strive to be a knowledgeable worshipper. Number six, all of the creation honors the people of knowledge. All of the creation messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says in the indeed Allah his angels the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth even the ant in its hole and the fish in its sea sends blessings upon the one who teaches
35:16 the people Good. This honor is beyond visibility. While people, yeah, we may overlook the scholar, the entire universe and what's beyond it, it recognizes their worth. It makes dua for them because knowledge maintains balance. It maintains mercy and guidance on earth. Right? Few deeds can earn such universal approval. Few. It's not right. It's not it's not common. And if you're seeking knowledge, birds in the sky are making dua for you. deficiency I make dua for you few deeds earn such universal approval and number seven in knowledge lives on after death. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam he says
36:06 when a person dies all of his good deeds come to an end except for three bene ongoing charity beneficial knowledge or a righteous child who prays for him. Knowledge it defeats death. It defeats death. The body will turn into dust. However beneficial knowledge it continues to guide the hearts and the reward until the day of judgment. This is why they truly never die. If you look at the from the past, from recent times, we have from before we have from even before we have a right and then all of these scholars we are mentioning their names today, right?
36:51 What's happening? They have died. Their bodies have rotten but their knowledge is still here present amongst us. We are still benefiting from their works. We are still mentioning their names. Subhan Allah. Also uh brief explanation of this hadith. When a person dies, a scholar and a student of knowledge, he ticks all three boxes. Why? His knowledge is going to be ongoing charity, right? Because he's benefited the people and they people are benefiting others. It's an ongoing form of charity, right? Him he's leaving behind the actual knowledge, beneficial knowledge, right? And also the righteous child who prays for him is his students or his companions. When he passes away, they're going to make dua for him. They're going to look right now. Even right now, we we mentioned we see right. We mentioned all of these
37:37 scholars right now so many more. We're mentioning their names. We're making dua for them. And so and a student of knowledge, they take all three boxes. This is why the they never truly die. Of course, they're physically dead and the soul have been taken, but I meant the knowledge never dies. Now, number eight, knowledge. It requires sincerity and it requires trust. The messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, he warned.
38:22 He says, "Whoever seeks knowledge, that which should be sought for the sake of Allah, but he only seeks it for worldly gain, they will not smell even the fragrance of paradise of Jenna." And he sallallahu alaihi wasallam says, Whoever is asked about knowledge and he conceals it will be brittled with fire on the day of resurrection. These warnings both of them they protect knowledge from corruption corruption. Knowledge must be sought for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and it must be carried with responsibility. When knowledge is used for your ego or your thing uh arrogance or it is withheld.
39:11 Yeah. Whether it's out of fear or ego, then he turns this light into a burden for you. And through the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam's words, we understand that the virtues of knowledge, they become undeniable. Knowledge is a sign of Allah's love. It's a pursuit that leads to Jenna. Is a striving in the path of Allah. Is the only safe position in this dunya. It elevates above above worship alone. It's honored by all of the creation. And it continues after death. And it demands sincerity and trust. So therefore to seek knowledge is not merely to learn. However, it is to walk the path of the prophets. Now the next part we move on to now we understand what knowledge is. We understand why knowledge is special. Now what do we do?
39:57 We need to seek knowledge, right? But before we seek knowledge, the container that we're going to seek knowledge in, the vessel that we're going to seek knowledge in, we need to prepare that. Before we even seek knowledge, we need to prepare that. Okay? So before a person they can actually walk the path of the sacred knowledge to seek the sacred knowledge, they must first prepare the vessel that will carry it and that is the heart. Right? The mentioned seeking knowledge without preparing the heart is like pouring pure water into a cracked container. It spills before it even benefits. Right? And for this reason, the scholars of Islam, they were united upon one principle which is knowledge does not begin with books. It begins with the heart. Knowledge doesn't begin with
40:44 books. It begins with the heart. Right? And I touched upon this before. I'm going to explain it more. You know, traditionally speaking, the path of knowledge is stands upon two pillars. And these two pillars, they can never be separated. The first pillar is the inner state of the student which talks about his intention and sincerity and purification of the heart and the outer conduct of the student which is the manners and the discipline and the environment. Whoever neglects the first pillar they are deprived of and whoever neglects the second pillar is deprived of steadfastness and continuation. And whoever gathers both together, Allah opens for them doors that effort alone can never open.
41:29 Okay. The first foundation of purifying and preparing the the vessel of knowledge is to purify the heart. The heart is a container of knowledge and knowledge itself is light and light it does not settle in a heart which is filled with darkness. For this reason, remember they used to describe knowledge as a precious jewel. We talked about this, right? And a jewel cannot and does not remain in a dirty vessel. The amount of benefit a student receives from knowledge is not based on your intelligence alone. It's based on the purity of your heart. And this purification, it requires two types of cleanings or cleansings. The first one is to cleanse your heart from doubts.
42:14 And the second one is to cleanse your heart from which is desires. Right? Ash are intellectual impurities. They can include you know false beliefs, false understandings, extremism in your uh views confusion inherited misunderstandings or even unchecked biases. Right? No. And uh uh even if such a person you know the heart if it's filled with these doubts right and um they cannot see the truth from falsehood or they can't see guidance from misguidance then such a person even if they memorize a lot even if they learn or retain words and information
43:00 um you know it's not going to help them their true understanding it will remain shaky. The used to mention a confused heart cannot carry clear knowledge. A confused heart cannot carry clear knowledge. The second thing we mentioned is to cleanse your heart from desires. A shahawat. And aat it doesn't only refer to uh human desires, right? Um immoral desires. It doesn't refer to that only. It's not talking about um uh sexual desires also refers to spiritual impurities and this is something we need to focus on. They include sins yes but they also include things like arrogance or love of
43:45 praise or love of argument or desire for status right a person you may know what is correct but your desires prevent you from accepting the truth sometimes you just pick and choose ah I'm feeling tired so I'm going to do this or today I want to do this I'll do that just you go off in your desires it's not really restricted to the bodily desires and that's what I'm trying to say to you right it's also desires in knowledge I take what I want I today I do it tomorrow I don't do it right today I have this opinion tomorrow I have that opinion right nothing based on evidence not looking at do you get it and also a point which I want to understand sins it doesn't only weaken your im it actually blocks your understanding right that's why they said they used to fear doing sins more than
44:31 ignorance they used to fear sins more than ignorance now the had some statements in regards to the inner state. He mentioned Allah light is forbidden from entering a that contains something Allah dislikes. He said a person is granted knowledge according to the level of his intention. He has asked about sincerity and he said
45:18 people were only elevated through sincerity. He said I never struggled with anything more difficult than my intention for it constantly constantly changes. These words of the Allah the pious predecessors that we always go back to and refer back to. They teach us a deep understanding and a deep deep truth. Knowledge is not withheld because of a lack of intelligence but it is withheld because there's a lack of sincerity. Something very important to understand and therefore we need to understand what is the heart of the journey. works on two levels.
46:05 Intending the act itself which is intending Allah himself. And this answers one question. Who am I seeking this knowledge for? Without the second intentions, the action may look correct outwardly, but it remains empty inwardly and it is not going to be not it's not going to be accepted from you. And therefore we come to the four essential intentions of the student of knowledge. Now that we are embarking on this knowledge in this journey of seeking knowledge in this sacred path we must have four essential intentions. Number one and this should be done before you open any books you sit any gatherings you know you start fully seeking knowledge. Four intentions. Write these down. Number one
46:55 to remove ignorance from yourself from oneself. The first goal is to have self-guidance to be less uh to remove ignorance from yourself. That's the first goal of knowledge. Person seeks knowledge. They seek knowledge to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala correctly and to leave their ignorance to leave their misguidance. The person who hasn't corrected himself first, he cannot correct others. You need to remove the ignorance from yourself. You don't know. So you should remove the ignorance from yourself first. The second thing is knowledge is sought to benefit the um so you remove ignorance from others. The second intention that you should have is
47:41 removing ignorance from others. Knowledge is sought to benefit the um it's not sought to argue or to show your superiority or to gain fame. The true students of knowledge, they want guidance for themselves and also for others just as he wants it for himself. Right? The third thing is reviving the religious sciences. Some sciences they become weak with time and when a student of knowledge they abandon them the religion itself can become weak and therefore seeking knowledge it preserves the dean from loss and distortion. Then the fourth knowledge that you should have it is to act upon this knowledge that
48:27 you have is to act upon this knowledge that you have. Knowledge is not just for debate or for display. The purpose of knowledge is to act. It's action. Right? The scholars they mention a scholar who does not act upon the knowledge is like a candle. It gives light to others while burning itself. Like a candle you benefit others. You give light to others while you are burning yourself. Now and it's very important for us to understand that the second foundation. So we mentioned the first foundation. What was the first foundation? The first foundation we said is purifying the heart and we mentioned you purify it by
49:13 cleansing the heart from doubts and uh desires. And we mentioned some of the we're talking about the inner states. We talk about we talked about understanding the intention which is the heart of the journey and the two types of intentions. We talked about the four essential intentions that a student of knowledge should have which is removing ignorance from yourself, removing ignorance from others, reviving the religious sciences and acting upon this knowledge. The second foundation right in terms of preparing the vessel of knowledge, it's the external preparation, your manners and environment. If sincerity prepares the inside of this vessel, then manners is what protects it from the outside. The we'll talk about in more detail soon.
49:58 They give adab the same importance as they give to other things like memorization. Right? Knowledge without manners is a fitna. Knowledge without manners is a fitna is a trial. Manners without knowledge are incomplete. But together they produce scholars and they say the are the fathers of the soul. He mentioned they meaning the they used to learn manners just as they used to learn knowledge. Said learn manners before you learn knowledge. And he used to mention about his mother mother My mother used to put the im on me and
50:44 dress me up like the scholars. And his mother used to say to him, "Go to and learn from his manners before his knowledge." He mentioned you are more in need of small amount of good manners than large amount of knowledge. And so some of the practices of the student of knowledge is that we should leave our excessive comfort. We should have these mannerisms. We should protect our time. We should have righteous companionship. the company that shapes the heart. Right? Ease weakens a resolve in the heart and time
51:31 is a student's true wealth. Every hour wasted is a brick missing from the house of knowledge. And therefore sincerity cleans the vessel. Manners keep it strong. Only then does knowledge settle, shine and give life to the students and to others. And therefore after preparing the heart and the vessel we now turn to the adab of seeking knowledge. How knowledge is respected, protected and preserved. And so we move on to the next part where we talk about seeking adab before knowledge. We just talked about this briefly but listen my dear brothers and sisters. We now have to come to one of the most important stations on the path of seeking knowledge. one of the most important stations and that is
52:18 seeking manners before seeking knowledge. Many students fail not because they have a lack of intelligence but because they have a lack of adab. A person even memorize books, master terminologies, speak confidently yet you lack adab, your knowledge becomes a proof against you. It doesn't become for you. In the path of the scholars, in the path to become scholars, adab is not optional. It's not something added after learning. Comes before seeking knowledge, before knowledge. It comes with knowledge and he remains after knowledge. The used to say with manners and knowledge is understood. Without adab knowledge will
53:04 not guide. Without adab knowledge does not soften your hearts. Without adab knowledge will destroy the carrier of its of of knowledge. Knowledge will destroy its carrier. First thing we need to understand remember going back to our foundations knowledge is an it's an act of worship right they establish they the scholars they establish this clear principle knowledge is just as salah is invalid without worship of knowledge which is the inner worship is invalid without and knowledge remember we mentioned is not just information it's a trust it's a light it's a form of worship Worship in the heart. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
53:56 they were not commanded only to worship Allah making the religion sincerely for him. The highest is the with Allah which is las after of course is the first thing then it's if knowledge is sought for argumentation for status for followers for debates for self- glorification then knowledge is no longer knowledge is no longer worship it becomes a means of punishment for you and adab is the true measure of success he mentioned A person's manners are the sign of his happiness and success and his lack of manners is a sign of his misery and ruin. If you see a student
54:41 who mocks the who interrupts constantly, who loves reputations, who just goes on to do reputations and share reputations and this scholar says this and that scholar says this, right? Who speaks harshly and when we say speaks harshly meaning they think they are better than others, right? and they enjoy controversy and controversial things. This is not strength. This is a warning sign. Knowledge is too noble to be carried by arrogance. Such people will never be able to carry knowledge. Sooner or later, it will slip out. You see, I'm going to mention this later, but this concept of going back and forth and reputations and wasting your time into saying who said what. Seek knowledge. Seek knowledge. You're not a scholar.
55:27 Don't involve yourself. This guy says this and says this and this says this and that guy is calm down. Right? You take from your scholars who are known to be from the of the who have follow the Quran and upon the understanding of the who or have the correct understanding who follow the authentic evidences. You have your scholars. You stick with them right and you study. No need to go and start talking about this guy made this mistake and he said this and do you know who said spreading lies and this causes issues. Learn your position. Know who you are. Know your position. Know who you are. Leave the job of reputations and going into the books of the the previous
56:14 people trying to find errors and stuff like that. Leave that to the they are doing their job. They have a role. You have a role. You're a student. Now continuing this the way of the salah it is manners before books. This is a principle we established right today. Many of us we rush into advanced topics. We rush into disagreements. We rush into publicly speaking without knowledge. But this was not the way of the like we mentioned in he says they used to learn manners just as they knowledge. And we talked about Im Malik where he says where his mother will say to him go to and learn from his manners before
57:01 his knowledge also he said we used to seek knowledge for 20 20 years and we used to learn for 30 years. So 30 years he sought adab and 20 years he sought knowledge and this is very important. Why? Because knowledge without adab is dangerous while adab even with little knowledge is still safe. The next thing we have to mention is with your teacher and the teacher in the is known as the father of the soul meaning the spiritual father. Understand this principle well. Your teacher is the father of your soul. Just as your parents are the caretakers of your body like your father is your biological father. Right?
57:48 Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam says he is not from us who does not honor our elders or show mercy to our young and recognize the right of our scholars. And from the with our teachers is we must sit attentively. We shouldn't recline. We shouldn't appear bored. We shouldn't interrupt. We shouldn't make noise. We shouldn't listen. We should listen more than you speak. If you see that there's a mistake, then firstly verify it. Then advise the teacher privately, gently with respect. Whoever humiliates the scholars will eventually humiliate knowledge itself. And whoever humiliates knowledge itself is
58:35 humiliating Allah and his messenger. And whoever is humiliating Allah's messenger, you have to be very careful. You're in a very dangerous position. Very, very dangerous. A quick thing which I wanted to mention just a side point. I studied with many people people that I sat with very smart memorized the Quran a hadith very pious but I have seen them disrespect their teachers. I have seen them diss their teachers. I have seen them violate their teachers. I am saying this from my own personal experience. They have left the fold of Islam today. They have left. no longer Muslim mad.
59:20 I sat next to them three years, four years, five years maybe some of them, left the religion. Some of them have become misguided. They're now in the streets. Some of them are now coming back to the religion. And so we ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to forgive us for our disrespect with our teachers because we don't know when he will come and hit us. We don't know when it will come and hit us. Now the next part which I want to mention is the truth is the truth. It shouldn't be watered down. It shouldn't be sugarcoated. I understand. However, the truth needs to be accompanied with your beautiful character. And I want to talk about this
1:00:06 concept of adab in dawa. Here we must speak honestly. Today many people today they carry the correct beliefs they carry the authentic evidences yet the dawa fails why because of bad the manage is correct they're following the manage of the however the proofs the is very strong how can you go against it however what is ruining the dawa their harshness their arrogance their mockery that's what makes the people run away from the truth truth. Does that make sense? Your man be correct? We follow the We
1:00:53 have the belief of the We have the understanding of the pious predecessors. We follow the Quran and the Sunnah upon the understanding of the pious predecessors upon the understanding of the Sahabah the we have the we have the proofs on our side we have the h however what are we failing in the way we are presenting this right I'm not saying sugar coat it and I'm not saying soften it I'm not saying water it down the h is the h but once you start ridiculing the people once you start mocking the people once you start showing arrogance once you start being extremely harsh the way you are presenting the dawa is actually harming the dwa. So therefore being upon the truth it doesn't give us an excuse to have bad character.
1:01:39 It doesn't give us again like he mentioned you're in need of little than a great deal of knowledge and therefore bad manners in dawa. It pushes the people away from the sunnah. It makes the truth appear ugly. It turns a dawa into an argumentation and it creates arrogance instead of humility. We see this online. We see this many of the people they have the h but simply because of the way they are talking it the way they are the bad language that they're using against the the oppositions. Do you really want to put them down? Do you really want to guide them or put them down? What's your aim when you're going to daw? Do you want
1:02:25 that person to come to the or not? He used to mention I never ever debated anyone hoping to win over him. I always wanted him to win because I want to know what the truth is. I always debated because I wanted the truth to come out. I wanted him to accept the truth. That's why I want that's the only purpose of my debate. And debate is left to those who have this knowledge and those who not only have knowledge but they have wisdom called to my path with insight with hikma wisdom and therefore the truth it must be carried with mercy, patience and wisdom. And so why does adab come first? A
1:03:12 student without adab is like someone who builds a palace but leaves the sewage open. No one can live in it. It smells disgusting, right? And a student without discipline is not going to move ahead. It's not going to move ahead. Adab is what transforms information into guidance. Adab is what preserves our dawa. And adab is what makes knowledge beloved to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and to the people. If you do not respect the people of knowledge and you do not respect knowledge itself, knowledge will not respect you. You'll be known for your humility before your speech. You should be known for your silence before your arguments. And you should be known for your character before you make your claims. So therefore, after understanding the importance of adab, we must now speak about the common mistakes that destroy us as students of
1:03:58 knowledge. Even if our intentions are good, even if we have the right understanding. Look, common mistakes are there. We are all beginner students of knowledge, right? And we are here to help each other, to advise each other, and I advise myself first. However, this path of seeking knowledge is one of the most noblest paths to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. However, it's one of the most dangerous paths. Many people they begin with the sincerity and enthusiasm. However, what happens? They fall along the way. Not because they were unintelligent but because they were unaware of the traps in that path. The path is has traps. The son of Allah is to mention not everyone who walks this path will arrive. Therefore we must draw from the guidance of the scholars. We must see the common
1:04:45 mistakes that beginner students of knowledge they fall into and we can categorize them into three broad categories. The first category is corruptions from of the heart. The second category is er errors in our methodology of seeking knowledge and the third category is the modern intellectual traps. So therefore knowing these early it can protect a seeker of knowledge from turning a path to Jenna into a path of regret. Very important to understand. Are you guys with me so far? Right. Now uh is my voice okay now? Alhamdulillah my apologies.
1:05:31 Firstly, the first mistake the student of knowledge falls into. Again, make sure you have good notes is the corruption of intention. Alas is removed. Alas is corrupted. And the mistake is we seek knowledge for status or for argumentation or to defeat others or to be praised or followed by others. We don't seek the knowledge to remove ignorance from ourselves and to draw closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala what did he say? They were commanded to only worship Allah making the religion sincerely for him. And the messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wasallam says
1:06:25 Whoever seeks knowledge that should be sought for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala but seeks it only for worldly gain will not smell even the fragrance of paradise and says this the engine of the journey when this breaks the entire path it collapses knowledge is the hidden of worship like we mentioned many times if the intention is corrupted then this noblest of good deed this noblest of of worship it becomes a form of destruction for We begin with sincerity. But what happens? We slowly shift. We start seeking validation. We start seeking followers. We start seeking superiority without noticing when the fall has already started to happen. The next mistake of a student of knowledge as a beginner is the think this idea and this concept of self-sufficiency is
1:07:11 delusional. This delusion of self-sufficiency meaning studying without a teacher. Studying without a teacher. The mistake that they fall into is they rely on these books, PDFs nowadays, right? YouTube playlists that they have saved, podcasts that have they have saved, self forms of study, right? You know, Islam, Q&A, chat, GPT, right? I have all my sources, internet, anything I search is there. Studying like that, you guys are in dangerous situations. We are abandoning learning directly from the qualified people. We are abandoning lying directly from the if that was the case then what was the point of sending down the Quran into in stages and the prophet sallallahu alaihi
1:07:57 wasallam explained it. Allah subhana t could have just sent down hey go this is a book read it study it yourself live by it no it came in stages it was explained right it was shown by the messenger ofah sallallahu alaihi wasallam it's a humane thing messenger of he says the hadith Yes. Sorry. You hear from me, others will hear from you and others will hear from those who heard from you. This is how it is. We have a chain. The knowledge, Islamic knowledge is not just information. It's not a database. It's a living chain. It's a living sins. The mention knowledge is taken from the mouths of the men, not from the lines of the books. The teacher, they will
1:08:44 shorten the path for you. They will explain terminologies. They will correct your misunderstandings. They will correct your views. They will treat arrogance in you before it grows. And whoever enters knowledge alone will often exit it confused, arrogant or even misguided. Key word here, it will exit it. He will stop seeking knowledge. You don't seek knowledge. You cannot seek knowledge by doing things yourself. My own research, my own thing. Knowledge is not li as a beginner of knowledge. Absolutely not. There are stages of knowledge in will cover them. But you cannot be this is a very big misunderstanding right that we seek knowledge from just reading books uh without a teacher explaining
1:09:30 the book to us and then we get extremist views. Why do you think these extremist views happen? Think about it. Right? Because they don't have someone to correctly guide them. No, this is a misunderstanding of what you just read. this correct tap is this this correct understanding is this this not the way of the salaf the salaf they they didn't understand it like this the pious predecessor they didn't they didn't understand it like this they understood it like this they explain it to you can't always find that in books the third mistake which links into this is ignoring something called gradualism what we call as jumping the stages this is is a big issue that I've been trying to tackle with people. Big issue.
1:10:17 Know your position. Know where you are, what your level is. Then start doing things. Right? The mistake is you start studying. You start studying advanced disagreements amongst the you start studying reputations. You start studying what's known as comparative. Hi says this. authority says this, Malik says this, says this, Abraham says this, Muhamm says this, he says this, he says this, he says it. You look at 50 different opinions and you start picking and choosing. No is not s like that. Is given to you by a teacher who will explain to you the correct position based on the based on the evidence and they will explain their position. If you feel that position is not good, then you can go to another
1:11:03 teacher and they will be able to explain it to you. But if you start being overloaded with 50 different opinions, then you have like a whole database and you're like, "Okay, today I'm feeling tired, so I'm going to take this one. Uh, today I'm feeling energetic, so I'm going to take that opinion." Uh, and then this will pick and choose. Pick and choose. Biggest mistake. Big mistake. Before we master the foundational text, we start going into these. Allah is dangerous. Do not go into the disagreements, advanced disagreements. I mean, right? Do not go into reputations. Ah this guy's this guy's this guy said this scholar says this about him and he says this about him this is not seeking knowledge you are being deceived by shan is removing you from the path of knowledge and busying you with not seeking knowledge rather in that time when you
1:11:48 were talking about this guy refuted this guy this guy you could have learned a whole book you could have studied you could have studed something you could have memorized one page of Quran no you want to go into disagreement And uh this for this uh concept of gradualism jumping the stages is something is a big mistake. Allah subhana t what he say we reveal the Quran in stages so that you may recite it to the people gradually and they explain that they have of a
1:12:33 statement very nice statement which I like to The food of the adults is poison for the children. If an adult, they can have a burger. Can you give a newborn baby a burger? Huh? It's going to die. It's going to choke. It doesn't have the ability to chew. Doesn't have the strength. And so, same thing here. If you start going into advanced things, that which you cannot comprehend, that which you cannot understand, that which will misunderstand, that will cause you harm, it will destroy you. Gradually listen, like a child grows, you'll be given to you what you need. Once you become a grown person, then you can move on and do your own thing. But that process of growing in your knowledge and that process of improving
1:13:20 yourself, what do you do? You must have someone who will guide you, someone who will explain to you. That's your teacher, right? Someone will be able to tell you land this, don't land this, learn it this way. This is the correct understanding. And so remember this, the food of the adults is a poison for children. And knowledge, it has stages. It has five stages. Inshallah, we'll talk about these in detail. But just so for your understanding, five stages of knowledge are firstly which is the foundations. Then we have the evidences. Then we have which is comparison. Then we have which is verification. Then we have which is specialization. Inshallah I'll cover each one. Don't worry. Whoever rushes into these will be punished by never
1:14:05 arriving to the end goal. Remember that. The fourth mistake is what's known as the Abu Shib disease. Intellectual arrogance. The four mistake. The fourth mistake of the student is they present themselves as learners before being qualified. He starts issuing fatawa verdicts. He started speaking publicly without knowledge. He started refuting scholars and he start leading others prematurely. The wisdom of the was immensely. It's beautiful. The wisdom of the they mentioned that knowledge has three spans. The first span is arrogance. This is the beginning of your seeking of knowledge. Like yeah I know it all. Yeah I know. I know this guy. Why you
1:14:52 praying like that? Yeah. Arrogance. The second stage is when you start learning more, you realize you become humble. It's humility. Wait a second. I didn't know that. There's a lot more to learn. I haven't even heard of that book. Wow. And you become humble. You remember. Okay. I have I have I don't know what I'm talking about. Right. That humility comes in. And then the third stage which is you realize your ignorance. You you look back and you're like I don't know anything. I only have 1%. Because the more you learn, the more you get exposed to knowledge. You're like what? I'm in a sea of knowledge. I don't know anything.
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