ETIQUETTES OF SEEKING KNOWLEDGE

 The etiquette of seeking knowledge compose of the following:

• The Intention
• Manners and humbleness
• Practice 
• Character development
• Patience
  
  
  

Humbleness and Manners

Imam Malik may Allah be pleased with him, said " Learn politeness and manners before you learn knowledge. 

 The way we sit.

The way we handle your books.

Abdullah ibn Mubarak may Allah be pleased with him, said " Your manners are 2/3rd of the entire knowledge that you seek." The more humble and polite you are, the more Allah swt. will give you more knowledge and make you understand things easier than you think.

Sufiyaan Al- Thawri may Allah be pleased with him, said " No good deeds after obligations than to seek knowledge. 

"Never start learning before you learn manners."

"Be an empty cup before you learn anything. If you come full cup and you will try to put in something it will overflow, so you do not receive anything."  

Knowledge is a blessing from our Rabb Allah swt. Be grateful for it. Abdullah ibn Mubarak may Allah be pleased with him, " who so ever do not take this blessing seriously Allah will take from him the love of extras (sunnah ibadah)". 

 This is especially true when you seek knowledge of the deen of Allah swt. 

"Never take sunnah ibadah lightly because the moment you will ignore it gradually you will lose your obligations. And those who neglect their obligation Allah swt deprived them of knowledge of Deen and Duniya.

Next and most importantly to be students of knowledge we need to clean our hearts from its diseases. What are diseases of the heart? 

• Arrogance
• Jealousy
  
  
  

IKHLAAS, The Intention

Question yourself before you begin " Why do I want to learn this? ", " Why do I need to go to medical school?", "Why do I want to pursue this degree or that course?", "Why should I join Al Q'uran classes?"

And there should be a single answer to all these questions, " Indeed for the sake of Allah swt., to please him."

And once you check your Niyah, begin the task with utmost sincerity. Sincerity is an obligation.  Allah swt says in Al Q'uran " They were not ordered but to work ship Allah alone with sincerity."

Examine your Niyah time by time because it changes. " The difficulty is beyond my caliber.", "I found it no more interesting"," I wish I wouldn't have chosen it.", "I am done with this." These are some very common excuses that we often give to ourselves. These are needed to be relocated "Allah swt. is generous, he brought me here. I must take it as a reward, I will make it for Allah swt. I am here to serve him not myself."

It is mentioned in Sunnah Abu Dawood; "Whosoever learns this deen it will certainly lead him closure to Allah swt. for no reason except to get the reward from him.

And whosoever did it in the shade of worldly temptations will not be able to smell Jannah."

"DEEDS ARE MEASURED ACCORDING TO YOUR INTENTION"

Abu Yusuf may Allah be pleased with him said, "I never left a gathering in whatsoever I sat except that Allah swt. had elevated me."

He also mentioned, don't look for any Duniya reward. Be humble to Allah swt. never do this for any reason except to please him.

If you are sincere to Allah swt. and you do everything to please him then doesn't matter whether some praises you or insult you, you must have the same response to both of them.

TAQWA; Reliance upon Allah swt.

Be conscious of Allah swt. whenever and wherever you are or whatever you are doing. Look for Allah at every moment and at every level.

What is written for you will always find you doesn't matter where you are and that which is not written for you can never to part of your life. Also, everything which is good for you comes to you at its time. Have strong tawwaqul on your Lord in all the favorable and difficult ones.

Do everything to please him, in the path of obedience. Never ever use 'if' or 'but' for him.  Instead, rush to him every time so that He may be pleased with you.

"Who so ever practices Taqwa upon Allah swt. He will make all ways open to him."

Always have good expectations only from Allah. He will never let you down in any matter even if things get tougher and you feel a burden upon yourself have Taqwaa in his planning and seek his help through Patience and Prayer. Never question the love and compassion of your Lord by asking, "Why only me?" Instead, remember that your 

"Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity."

He is always with you.

Practicing  the knowledge

Immediately practice the lesson you learned. It will empower your learning and ease your memorization. Allah swt mentions in Surah Az- Zuma "Best are those who listen and follow it." 

Ali ibn Abi-Talib may Allah be pleased with him said," Knowledge calls for actions. If won't practice what you learn, the knowledge goes away." 

Abdullah ibn Abbas may Allah be pleased with him said, "We don't move to the next ten ayahs till we memorize, understand, and practice it."

Sufiyaan Al- Thawri may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The reason you should learn is to practice. Don't skip practice only because you are still learning."

Patience

Work against your nafs (desire) before you blame Shaitan.

Shaitan; operates through your nafs & people. He will come to you and say, this is very difficult, it will take lots of time, and you are too young or too old for this.

Don't go into the trap of Shaitan. He will come to say, "Go out and enjoy and feel good about yourself, why you are burning yourself in these books."

In Allah swt. says Surah Az- Zuma, "The people who are patient will be rewarded unconditionally."

Take seek the help of Allah swt. through patience and prayer.

If you take a step towards Allah swt, he will take two steps toward you.

Surah Kahf says Allah swt. he will test in Deen, money, power, knowledge.

Musa salat-o-Salam was even tested in knowledge through Khidr peace be upon him when he thought he is most knowledgeable and lost his patience.

Imam Al-Shafi'i may Allah be pleased with him, said, "No one who seeks knowledge with arrogance will be unsuccessful. One who humbles themselves and lowers their living will be among successful and will serve knowledge." 

Be patient and trust the process knowledge never come in a single night believe in the timing of your Lord if we will, you will be successful. Just don't lose hope in his mercy.

Character Development

Imam Malik may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Check the result on yourself."

Umar ibn al-Khattab may Allah be pleased with him said " Learn to be humble, to be calm, and lower yourself to whom you are receiving your knowledge and you seek knowledge from you." 

• Raise the Bar 

“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.” (Tirmidhi)

Set realistic goals yet high bar goals and try to achieve them. Never doubt on your intellect Allah swt. has created as best creation among all the creation. 

• Be time efficient.    

 If a task needs two hours give it so don't waste your time, overdoing certain tasks and neglecting others due to time insufficiency.

  

                      "Write, Review, Memorize"

This article is an extract from the speech delivered by Dr. Haifaa Younis at her institute, Jannah Institute. The video link is,

https://youtu.be/umerHiYWoLM

May Allah forgive me for my mistakes in writing down highlights from her lecture. This is not my creation this is just my notes noted down from her lecture, may Allah raise her more in her knowledge, preserve her, and benefits us from her. 

                                                                     

                              في أمان الله