A Gift Of A Student And Teacher

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

We got to take our religious obligation seriously for it is our only salvation in our eternal life. You can do whatever you like, go after whatever you like, but in the end you are going to meet your Creator, and if your likes have not been pleasing to Allah and do not coincide and match with what Allah wants you to do, you will be in serious trouble.

So, the first step is to know what Allah wants us to do and those things that are pleasing to Him. You can't know what they are if you don't have a teacher to teach you. These are the teachers who study from their teachers with an unbroken chain of transmission tracing all the way back to the beloved Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace.

So, if you have someone who is willing to spend his/her time to teach you, this is a great blessing and you should be thankful and grab the opportunity to study from the teacher, and be serious about it. Don't take learning sacred knowledge as a filler that you come to class only when you have nothing else to do or put it lowest priority on your daily list of things to do. Cultivate this veneration for sacred knowledge that you are always eager to be with the teacher and do whatever it takes to excel and master what you are learning.

Great scholars are not ordinary people. They don't do what majority people would do. Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi, (d. 234/848), the famous Maliki scholar of Andalusia, in seeking knowledge from Imam Malik in Madina, did not stop to see the elephants that came to Madina, while other students rushed out to see the elephants out of curiosity.

For teachers, if you have someone willing to learn from you, this is a great blessing because you will have someone to pass down the knowledge to others, and inshaAllah this will be added to your good deeds that will carry over long after you die.

A gift of a student is to have a teacher and a gift of a teacher is to have a student. Knowledge is passed from the heart of one person to the heart of another. Books are tools that we can use but the main method is from heart to heart.

Allah says,

بَلْ هُوَ آيَاتٌ بَيِّنَاتٌ فِي صُدُورِ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ ۚ وَمَا يَجْحَدُ بِآيَاتِنَا إِلَّا الظَّالِمُونَ ﴿٤٩

Rather, the Qur'an is distinct verses [preserved] within the breasts of those who have been given knowledge. And none reject Our verses except the wrongdoers. (49)

[Qur'an Al-Ankabut 29:49]

The scholars categorized the knowledge as personally obligatory (fard 'ain) knowledge, communally obligatory (fard kifayah) knowledge and recommended knowledge.

You first should know your fard 'ain knowledge. This is everything that you need to know that will prevent yourself from being destroyed in the religion, which include matters of belief ('aqidah); outward obedience to Allah such as prayer (such purification, how to perform the prayer properly, memorize some Qur'an including al-Fatiha and a few short surahs for the prayer), fasting; zakat; hajj; rules of halal and haram (such food, drink, transactions, interaction with people, etc); purifying the heart (such knowing what are the diseases of the heart, how to cure them, knowing the station of excellence, etc.). If somebody is going to get married, it becomes fard 'ain for that person to study the rules of marriage.

If you have the intellectual capability and leadership skills, it becomes fard 'ain for you to study fard kifayah knowledge like memorize the entire Qur'an, study Arabic to a higher level, study details of fiqh and shari'ah to a level beyond what you personally need, in order to teach others or help other people to understand the Qur'an, rulings, etc. You cannot say, "I am only going to study fard 'ain knowledge."

There are many proofs in the Qur'an concerning the excellence of knowledge and its transmission. Allah, the Mighty and Glorious, says,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قِيلَ لَكُمْ تَفَسَّحُوا فِي الْمَجَالِسِ فَافْسَحُوا يَفْسَحِ اللَّـهُ لَكُمْ ۖ وَإِذَا قِيلَ انشُزُوا فَانشُزُوا يَرْفَعِ اللَّـهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ ﴿١١

O you who have believed, when you are told, "Space yourselves" in assemblies, then make space; Allah will make space for you. And when you are told, "Arise," then arise; Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees. And Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (11)

[Qur'an Al-Mujadila 58:11]

أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ سَاجِدًا وَقَائِمًا يَحْذَرُ الْآخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُو رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ ۗ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ ۗ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ ﴿٩

Is one who is devoutly obedient during periods of the night, prostrating and standing [in prayer], fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord, [like one who does not]? Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?" Only they will remember [who are] people of understanding. (9)

[Qur'an Az-Zumar 39:9]

Also , in the Hadith, the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, says,

When Allah desires good for someone, He gives him understanding of the deen.

[Bukhari]

Allah makes the way to the Garden easy for whoever treads a path in search of knowledge.

[Muslim]

Travelling on the path to knowledge refers both to walking along an actual pathway, such as going on foot to the assemblies of the scholars, as well as to following a metaphysical road, such as studying and memorizing.

May Allah grant us tawfiq. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalaam