By
Al-Allaamah Shaykh Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Nasir Aaal-as-Sa’dee
Compiled and prepared
by
Shaykh Muhammad bin Sulaymaan Abdul-Azeez Aaal-Bassaam
A former teacher in the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah
All Praise be to Allaah and May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon His Messenger, his family, his companions and all those who follow his guidance until the Last Day.
To begin:
Sincerity in your Intentions
The people of knowledge, from the teachers and the students, have given important to this nd have made it the foundation for all their affairs. They are the ones who build upon this principle in all of their movements and their moments of silence, having pure sincerity for Allaah in order to get close to him by this form of worship. An act of worship that that is needed for others acts of worship to be perfected, beneficial and in making it successful. So they search for this great principle in all moments of their day, in every minute of every affair.
So if you teach or study, research or are reading, listen or being listened to, writing or memorising, or even if you having personal tutoring or if you are revising from the books, or if you are sitting in the circles of knowledge or if you are the feet of the scholars, or if you are buying a book in order to gain some knowledge in a specific field; having sincerity to Allaah is the way one can account his rewards and gain the repayment, this is the only way he can profit his actions. By having sincerity, all of the actions we do can become acts of obedience and nearness to Allaah, as a result from all of this, we gain dignity and honour from Him. Accomplishing this is actualizing the Hadeeth of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him], “Whoever seeks a path in seeking knowledge, will have his path to Jannah made easy.” [Reported by Muslim, 4/2074]
This includes all the paths in seeking knowledge, whether this is physical or metaphorical, thus the people of knowledge are those who are specialized in this and are included in this Hadeeth.
Based on this, that what we need to be focused from the very beginning of seeking knowledge is to have sincerity, this is extremely important for us to understand and implement. After that, we then move on to seeking knowledge, whilst seeking knowledge it is important that we prioritise and organize what we will learn, starting with what is of most importance.
Arabic Language
From the important sciences and disciplines one must learn is the knowledge of the Arabic language, this is something well-known amongst the people. Therefore it is binding that we facilitate the different ways needed in order to attain this goal. There are books that are available on this topic, so you should return to them for further benefit.
Studying from What is Appropriate and Having a Syllabus
You should give these books importance, you should busy yourselves with them and memorise them if it is possible, or continually study them, ponder on the depth of them so that you can understand and remember their contents. You should make sure that you repeatedly give these books your attention by returning back to them. Therefore, it is upon the teacher to review himself, reviewing his strengths and weaknesses. He should not teach books that are not appropriate from him to teach because this would be a breach of sincerity on his part. Verily, a small amount of understanding and knowledge is better than one forgetting and not having any knowledge at all. Likewise, one should make sure that he fully understand what he studies, he should repeat the topic until he fully understands and he shouldn’t move from a particular issue on to another, until he fully understand it.
If one moves on from one issue without understanding it properly, onto another, then this will also be a cause for him not to understand the following issue properly either. This is because usually, issues follow on from each other in and a subsequent order. Failing to do this may lead for many issues becoming unclear to him and he may not be able to distinguish the truth or truly understand them, thus he will always find himself going back and forth. This is important, so pay attention to this point.
Patience when Teaching and Learning
It is also incumbent on the teacher to give good advice to his students, in all his ability. He should be patient whilst teaching as his students may not be able to always immediately comprehend what he is teaching them. So he should teach them without rebuking or being vain towards them. Even if the teacher is desperate for his students to learn, he should not forget teaching with good manners, this is because the teacher has the truth with him and the student is ready to accept this knowledge, he wants to be benefitted by the knowledge and possible benefit others further on. Therefore, the teacher becomes the central point of focus it is incumbent for the teacher to make the knowledge he passes on multiple in benefit, helping others to understand, memorise and grow. He should teach by using the best approach or methodology, he has the same status as a father, because the teacher inherits knowledge and then becomes the inheritor of it.
Allaah, the Most High, says;
"And Verily! I fear my relatives after me, since my wife is barren. So give me from Yourself an heir. "Who shall inherit me, and inherit (also) the posterity of Ya'qub (Jacob) (inheritance of the religious knowledge and Prophethood, not the wealth, etc.). And make him, my Lord, one with whom You are Well-pleased!"
[Maryam 19:5-6]
The meaning of inheriting in this Ayah means that he passes on knowledge and wisdom. Therefore, teachers are rewarded for what he teaches, whether the students understand it or not. If the students understand and benefit from it and then they benefit others, then the reward for the teacher is multiplied, as long as the series of those who benefit continue. So this is from the greatest types of business and profit one can benefit from.
So it becomes incumbent on the teacher to go exert himself to make sure his students benefit and develop from under his wing. These are some of the virtues which are extracted from the knowledge that he possess and the benefits it may bring.
Allaah, the Most High, says;
"Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them), and their traces [their footsteps and walking on the earth with their legs to the mosques for the five compulsory congregational prayers, Jihad (holy fighting in Allah's Cause) and all other good and evil they did, and that which they leave behind], and all things We have recorded with numbers (as a record) in a Clear Book."
[Yaaseen 36:12]
‘That which they sent before’ as mentioned in this Ayah refers to the way one pursued and went after his good or bad deeds.
‘And their traces’ in the Ayah refers to the benefit or the harm his deeds may have resulted in.
Therefore, the student must take all the roads to benefit fully from his teacher, understanding everything he is taught and he should strive to learn the technological terms used in each of the sciences and disciplines he studies.
Manners and Behaviour
The students must behave in the best of manners with his teacher, manners that they deserve in a general and specific sense.
As for the general manners, then this means that teacher should be readily available to help bring about benefit and all types of goodness for the creation, via his knowledge and his Fataawaa. So his right upon the general people is that he is good to them. His manners must reflect his position; his manners must be from the best forms of manners as he is the leader for the general people in their religious affairs. He must teach them in matters that they are ignorant of so that he may be a cause of goodness to come them and preventing from evils and misguidance from entering into their religious matter. He should be from those who benefit those who are present around him, thus the benefit continuing to others and so on from the generations to come.
If it wasn’t for knowledge then people would be like animals wondering in darkness and misguided by their blindness but knowledge is a life and it guides people from this darkness, it breathes life into their lives and souls, in the matters of their religion and their daily lives.
If there is a land that doesn’t have this, the people have no vice to seek guidance and their affairs explained to them and being warned from what is harmful for them, then staying in such a land has no benefit. So if these are the benefits and effects, then how can it be that a Muslim doesn’t wish for these things and try to uphold them?
As for the specific manners that the teacher should have, then this is for the teacher to be humble towards those who he teaches. He should be eager to guide them and seek the ways for them to arrive to the highest of stations.
They teach them the easier knowledge before the more difficult. They value their time and they ponder on ways to make their students understand, using any of the means necessary for the message they are teaching to be understood by their students. So if there is a person who is good to other people and he gives out gifts to others, it is expected that the one who receives the gift treats the one who gave him the gift in likeminded kindness. So what do you think should be given to the one who teaches, the one who guides and spreads various types of enriched benefit to people?
The fruits of knowledge is that the benefit remains as long as the person who has benefit is alive, and he then passes it on to others working like a chain, this is the reality of the gift given by the teacher. Therefore, you should know the rights that are upon him and have the best possible manners with him.
Don’t leave the guidance he gives you and the instructions he continues to advise you with, sit in front of him with manners and make it apparent that you desire the knowledge he has. You should supplicate for your teacher whether you are in his presence or not, and if he gives you a point of benefit or even if he teaches you something that you already knew, don’t make it seem like you are disinterested. There should be no difference in your manners towards him whether he teaches you something new or not. Rather you should remain attentive to him because he may expand on the information that you already knew by giving you an extra benefit. These are from the manners one should have when learning from people, whether this be in religious or worldly studies.
Making and Correcting Mistakes
If the teacher makes a mistake, then you should correct him with kindness and whilst being pleasant. Don’t say things like, ‘You have made a mistake’ or ‘It's not how you said it is’, rather you should be careful with your wording, be kind when approaching your teachers mistakes as kindness will prevent any form of resentment from entering the heart of your teacher.
These are from the binding rights that your teacher has upon you. From the ways which prevent one from returning to the correct opinion is by refuting him and giving advice in an inappropriate and harsh way, this will cause discomfort in the hearts and will prevent people from reaching the truth, thus contradicting your original intention, which was to guide them or give them advice.
Likewise this is also necessary upon teacher to return to the truth if he has made a mistake. He should not prevent himself following the truth, if he has an opinion and then finds something opposing his view to be the correct opinion then he should return to the truth. This is a sign of equity, humility and that he is upon the truth. It is Waajib for him to follow the truth whether the truth is presented to him from a small child or an elderly man.
It is from the favours of Allaah upon the teacher that he has students that will point out his mistakes, and that they seek for him to be guided to what is correct, and that they don’t tolerate him remaining on an opinion with is not correct or for him to remain in a state of ignorance. Based on this, the teacher needs to gives thanks to Allaah, The Exalted and The Glorified, and then thank the person who have corrected him and guided him to Allaah's guidance, whether this be another teacher or anyone else.
Saying 'Allaah Knows Best'
From the greatest of obligations upon the teachers is for them to say, when they don’t know; ‘Allaah and His Messenger Know best.’ By saying this, his status isn’t decreased rather it is increases it. By saying this, it acts as a proof that he is interested in making your religion, and your research into the issue, a correct one. For the one who admits to not knowing and stopping where he doesn’t know, will bring about many benefits. From them are the following;
-He is fulfilling what is obligatory upon him.
-If he withholds and says ‘I don’t know’ then it opens the path for knowledge to come to him, either he will find the answer after looking into it or someone will inform of it.
-Also, if he stops at what he doesn’t know then this is evidence that he is trustworthy and precise, he doesn’t talk except with certainty in any of the issues that may arise. Unlike the one who talks and we are not sure where he sources his information from, like a person who calls to doubts every time he talks, even if the issue is a clear and simple issue.
-Also from the benefits is that it acts as a lesson to the students and a form of guidance to a good and virtuous path. Actions and the way the teacher conducts himself can teach more of a lesson then verbal instructions.
-Another specific goal that can be attained by this is the fact that the door for the students to research into areas for themselves is opened. They will research matters for themselves with one common goal, which is to find the true position based on evidence. So if this is encouraged then it leads to the students growing in their ability to contemplate and for them to take proof as a source for them to follow what is correct in its reality. This is what the original purpose was, to find the truth and to follow it.
Have justice when Seeking Knowledge
So be cautious with the utmost of caution in following and having bias towards follow the views of the scholars blindly, rather the intent should be to have a discussion on the view of the scholars which is based on strength. If one is bias to his Madhab then the sincerity of attaining knowledge and then the fruitfulness of finding knowledge disappears. The depths of the facts disappear and the doors for grudges and revenges are opened. Therefore, equity is the adornment of knowledge, the address of it is sincerity and to give sincere advice and to find happiness.
So the student of knowledge must be cautious in seeking in knowledge for the purpose of corruption and evil intent. He should be cautious in falling into trying to parade himself, to flaunt and all the passages to showing off and seeking reputation. Likewise, he should be careful going through the doors that lead to him seeking the reward in the Dunya and making this his sole purpose. This is not the condition of the people of knowledge so the students of knowledge must be one who seeks to block out all the ways that lead to evil or showing off or gaining reputation, because this has nothing to do with the hereafter.
From the majority characteristics of the people of knowledge, and this is exclusive to them, is the fact that they have manners, they are an example of doing good deeds and that they have the ability to teach. Because of this, they are the people who have the upmost need of having good manners, beautiful conduct and that they treat all of the creation with the best of behavior, not repelling those who come to them in a repulsive way.
They are the most important of people when it comes to establishing the obligations of the religion, the obligations that are apparent or hidden. The scholars are those who doing acts that are prohibited. So once we know that which makes the people of knowledge and awareness special, we know the difference between them and those who are not from the people of knowledge, because they are an example for the people in their daily lives and that they help them leave arguments and matters of disputes. They help people eave all that which will bring dispraise and a bad towards others, this happens when the normal people leave following the path of those who don't know and trading it in following the path of those who have knowledge, the path which is superior to all other paths.
Acting by the Knowledge you Have
In addition, the Salaf would seek refuge in having knowledge and not acting by it, this is because doing good deeds helps one to become settled, helps one to grow and it brings about an abundance of blessings. If one leaves doing good deeds then he miss out on all of this, or at the very least, he won't have any blessings in his life. Giving life to knowledge and establishing knowledge is done by implementing it ones actions, he instills it in himself, he teaches it and he gives advice according to it. And there is no Might or Power except with Allaah.
Teaching Techniques
So it is incumbent for you to have manners that will benefit yourself when you learn and when you teach. So if the teacher explains an issue, it is clear with evidences and it is easy for the students to learn and comprehend, he uses simple wording and he gives examples. However, the teacher, despite doing all of this, if he doesn’t seek to stimulate the minds of the students or he doesn’t ask them to research the matter for themselves so they have a more profound understanding or he doesn’t give the students a chance to learn in an order that they will find it easier to understand the subject, such as the teacher moving on quickly before they understand the topic onto another topic, or he moves onto another topic before finishing the previous one, then this will be disruptive to the students. It will prevent their minds from understanding and soaking in the knowledge and thus the benefits will be lost, as he has mixed the topics and was not organized when teaching.
So it is a must that the knowledge that the students learn be summarized, the students urged to memorise what is important. The students can be tested to see if they know the generality of the topic by testing them by having examinations, encouraging them to revise and reinforcing what they have learned. Learning is like planting trees. Lessons, revising, repetition are all ways to water the roots that have been planted and it allows that what is harming the roots to be expelled.
Student Attitude towards Sitting with the Teacher or Scholar
Likewise, it is very important that the students have the utmost respect and have excellent conduct with the teacher. Moreover, he should be honoured in learning with the teacher and his behavior and respect towards him reflects this.
Having good friends and classmates when learning and seeking knowledge combines many of these rights, this is because having good friends whilst seeking knowledge helps instill the brotherhood of Islam. It helps us honour our fellow Muslim brothers and it enables us to help them in cooperating in what is beneficial to them, what will benefit the masses, which is to be affiliated with a teacher or a scholar. The teachers and scholars have the status of fathers, so it is a right that everyone benefits from them.
Based on this, it is necessary that we don’t leave giving the scholars and the teachers the just estimation they deserve, they deserve the right for us to think good of them, that they will benefit us with what they teach us and they be w cause of removal of ignorance from ourselves. So researching and studying together, under the supervision of a scholar, is a good way to benefit. So it is a must that we sit with them in every opportunity we have, so that we may learn, whether that be a simple or a slightly more advanced lesson.
These sittings are blessed as they have a transfer of knowledge; the one who knows teaches the one who doesn’t know. These sittings help one deduce beneficial lessons and it removes any doubt or areas or concern one may have.
Be wary of Sinning and Wasting Time
Also, beware of being too concerned with the affairs of the people and seeking to check and investigate what they are upon. It has become rampant today that people seek to find the state of a person or try and find faults in him, so be wary of this.
The sins of those who have knowledge is greater than those who sin from the normal people, this is because they are aware of what they are doing and the reasons why it is not prohibited, the normal people are lesser than them, they in reality follow the scholars.
Whoever does sins, those other than the scholars, are those who are behind the scholars and are in need of the scholars to explain their mistakes. If the scholars busy themselves with teaching and advising the normal folk, this will bring about betterment for the general people and it will change their time being resourced for things that will benefit them, it will bring out the joy and the illumination that knowledge can bring.
Don’t forget to Seek your Provision
Know! Seeking your provision and being financially balanced is a responsibility upon every single person, especially those who are busied with knowledge; this is in fact something that is even more exclusive to them. This is because knowledge is an occupation; it is like a career which takes him his whole life or most of it. So when he becomes busied with the Dunya and what he needs from it, it can distract him from this occupation. If one wants to become rich and this becomes his sole intent then this will be the greatest factors of him wasting his life, being busy with the Dunya will prevent the student from learning.
Teachers and Students Should put their Knowledge into Writing
From the manners of the scholars and the students is that they should be encouraged to partake in beneficial research, according to their ability. So if a student wants to know about a particular issue, by researching the issue it will bring greater benefit and he will find blessings within it because from the fruits of knowledge is the others benefit by it. So if someone has knowledge and he dies, the knowledge dies with him or it may even be the case that one has knowledge during his life but forgets it whilst he still alive. Therefore, researching and having study papers is like he is bringing the knowledge to life, he is protecting it by teaching other and Allaah, The Glorified and The Exalted, will reward him according to the benefit he gives us.
Seeking Betterment for People
From the most important of things that are exclusive to seeking and teaching knowledge is the fact that researching makes people united and their hearts become one. It blocks the ways for evilness to enter and it expels hatred and enmity between them. Therefore, this goal must be the main focus on where they seek to head, from all of the paths they traverse, having one intent and goal, because what they intend and seek is the same thing; a profound betterment involving all.
Loving the Scholars
This goal is actualized and perfected with love, so you should love all and have love for the people of knowledge, the very people who we have benefitted from and they have become busy because of our needs. We shouldn’t have any disagreements with them or speak of them in a bad way. Speaking ill about them is from the factors which will create barrier between us and having love for them. So we should love on another, we should be soft for one another; we should give advice with kindness towards those who try to warn each other from falling into what opposes this, those who try to create disunity and hatred, the opposite of having love for one another.
In reality, this objective is honourable and its intent is to create a great deal of good, good that we can't even begin to count. Even if we don’t know the benefit, the mere fact remains; the Legislator has encouraged us to attain using a variation of different ways.
Those who are more right for our love and have a greater need of having it. are the people who have knowledge because knowledge is the greatest form of having sincerity and giving advice, something that is instilled in the core of this religion and its soul.
By having this characteristic, the characteristic of knowledge, the lowly slave becomes attached to the people of knowledge, those who have been exalted. The people of knowledge are those people about which the Kitaab and Sunnah has praise for extensively, praise which we would not be able to summarise here.
Exposing knowledge to the masses and creating the ability to increase in it, allows knowledge to be circulated. If all of the people of knowledge learn from one source, using one methodology, then it will become easier for them to learn and spread this knowledge. However, if they learned from various different sources, each scholar having his own strategy, this will cause the benefit to be rooted, it won’t spread and it will in fact be detrimental. It may even create bias, partisanship and enmity, each scholar checking and investigating the other, looking for mistakes. This all contradicts what the religion intends and it actually opposes common sense. Therefore, the people of knowledge and the Salaf as-Saaleh were cautious and were wary of this.
The successful one is the one who sincere to Allaah and in having Tawheed, he establishes worship to Him Alone, both inwardly and outwardly. By sincerity, one can accurately account oneself, being sincere to the Kitaab of Allaah and in having Eemaan in it and what is contains. He proposes himself to learn and teach it and whatever may be connected to it from the other sciences of the Shariah.
The successful one is the one who has Eeman in the Messenger, he believes in all that he came with, whether it may be part of the ‘Aqeedah or the otherwise, he brings forward the Sunnah in his life ahead of anything else, loving him with all the love he can give to anyone after Allaah, the Most High. He establishes himself on the Sunnah, all that he [Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon him] came with, that which is connected to what is inwardly and outwardly.
He is sincere to the Muslims, their rulers and the general folk, he loves them and loves good for them, and he supports them in word and action. He loves to be united under the ruler, obeying him and not rebelling against him.
He is sincere to the general masses from the Muslims, he loves for them what he loves for himself and he hates for them what he hates for himself. He is true to them in his heart and what is apparent, in his word and actions. He supplicates for the Muslims in general to be strong and guided to the correct path.
So I ask Allaah, al-Kareem, to Love us and make us of those who love what He Loves, to love that which will bring us close to His Love and to provide us with his Mercy, verily he is al-Wahaab.
May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be Upon Muhammad, on his Family and his Companions.
Written by, the poor servant in front of his Lord,
Abdur-Rahman Naasir bin as-Sa’dee
The book was narrated by the poor servant to his Lord,
Muhammad bin Sulaymaan bin Abdul-‘Azeez aal Bassaam
1/12/1412 H
