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The Virtue of Seeking Knowledge

Shaykh Abū Ḥakīm

A lecture which took place in Trinidad, Ustādh Abū Ḥakīm advises us concerning the importance of seeking knowledge and acting upon it in accordance with the Qurʾān and Sunnah and the Methodology of the Salaf, in order to protect us from the punishment of Allāh.

From the many beneficial points which our noble brother Abū Ḥakīm benefits us within this important reminder are:

  • The importance of increasing slowly in understanding that which will cause us to become closer to Allāh’s Pleasure and protect us from the fire.
  • The path to seeking knowledge is a long but rewarding path. The Messenger of Allāh (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) said: “Whoever treads the path to seeking knowledge, Allāh will make easy for him the path to Paradise.’
  • Learning and retaining what is learned is done slowly by way of memorising, understanding and then acting upon what is learnt.
  • “Indeed today we obtain something of benefit, and tomorrow something else (of benefit). In this path of knowledge which has been taken, indeed a person will obtain wisdom, verily the flood is nothing but a collection of drops.”
  • The person who is plentiful in knowledge, began treading its path and persevered upon it and did not belittle any of the books of the scholars.
  • One does not only study or read a book once, rather the scholars go over the books such as ‘Kitāb al-Tawḥīd’ and ‘Uṣūl al-Thalāthah’ repeatedly, and oft-times we find that each scholar brings about a different benefit which may not have been realised before.
  • Similarly, one may study and go over the same book six or seven times, and on the seventh time, he realises a benefit which he had previously missed or had not understood.
  • Knowledge should not be belittled, especially those short texts which may be small in size but great in benefit. Sometimes they are studied over and over again until the points are memorised.
  • The aim is not to finish a text, but rather to gain understanding.
  • There is nothing more noble than studying the sciences of the Shariʿah under the scholars.
  • The definition of ʿilm is “Knowledge of Allāh, His Messenger and the religion of al-Islām with proofs.”
  • Knowledge is not obtained by resting, rather the best of the scholars of our Ummah spent a portion of the night seeking knowledge and a portion of the night in supererogatory prayer.
  • Seeking knowledge is compulsory upon every Muslim.
  • The virtue of knowledge is more superior than wealth.

Published: August 30, 2016
Edited: March 27, 2022