Tadhim Al-'ilm 1

Question 1

What does the amount of knowledge a servant attain depend on?

Answer 1

The shaykh says it depends on how much he honours/glorifies/respects this knowledge. The shaykh says that if a person belittles knowledge, knowledge won’t find a place in their heart.

Question 2

What was the methodology of the scholars regarding attaining knowledge?

Answer 2

The methodology of the scholars is to take knowledge first from the smaller books to get the foundations/principles of knowledge as these foundations will allow you to attain many forms of knowledge e.g., the principle of ‘certainty is not removed by doubt’ can be applied in many chapters of the religion e.g., Book of Tahara (purification), Book of Zakah, Book of Salah etc

Question 3

What is a proof/hujjah in the sharia’ of Allah سبحانه وتعالى?

Answer 3

The Qur’an of Allah سبحانه وتعالى , the Sunnah of the messenger ﷺ, the ijma’ of the salaf (consensus of the companions/salaf/scholars of the salaf e.g., the 4 imams, ibn Abbas) and qiyas (which involves comparing a new situation or case that is not explicitly addressed in the Qur’an or Sunnah to an existing one that is clearly addressed e.g., scholars can extend the prohibition of alcohol which has intoxicating effects, to other similarly harmful substances e.g., recreational drugs). Saying sheikh “x” has said something is NOT an evidence.

Question 4

What did ibn Qayyim say is the cure to ignorance?

Answer 4

“Ignorance is a disease that kills and its cure is an a’lim from the sunnah and evidence from the Quran and the sunnah”

(Seeking knowledge keeps you away from fitan (trials)

Question 5

What is the first principle that the shaykh mentions?

Answer 5

“Purifying the vessel of knowledge”

Seeking knowledge happens in the heart. The cleaner your heart, the more knowledge you can attain

Question 6

The messenger ﷺ said “Verily, in the body there is a piece of flesh that if it is sound/rectified/pure then the whole body is sound/the rest of the actions of the believer will be rectified and if it is corrupt then the whole body is corrupt/the rest of the actions of this individual will be corrupt, and hearken it is the heart.” Where is this hadith located?

Answer 6

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1599

Question 7

Why is the heart the first thing a person needs to purify if they wish to attain knowledge?

Answer 7

The shaykh says “Knowledge is a delicate jewel (something which is precious) and it is not befitting that it goes into a dirty and impure heart”

Question 8

What did the shaykh say are the 2 ways to purify the heart?

Answer 8

The shaykh says:

1) Purifying it from the filth of shubuhaat (doubts regarding your religion whether this be doubts of shirk, bid’ah etc

2) Purifying your heart from shahawaat (desires that lead to haraam and sin).

The shaykh said “Whoever purifies his heart, knowledge settles within it; and whoever does not get rid of its impurities/the dirt of shubuhaat and shahawaat, knowledge will leave him”

Question 9

What was Abdullah ibn Mas’ood رضي الله عنه statement regarding how the believers and non-believers view their sins?

Answer 9

“The believer sees his sins as if he were sitting at the base of a mountain, fearing that it may fall on him. The wicked person/non-believer sees his sins as if (they are) flies passing over his nose”

(Feeling guilty is a sign of imaan)

Question 10

Finish the hadith - The messenger ﷺ said “Verily Allah does not look at your outward appearance and your wealth, __________________________

Answer 10

rather he looks at your heart and at your deeds/actions.”

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2564c)

(The actions are only a repercussion of what is in the heart - Good actions = clean heart, Bad actions/sins without repentance = sick/diseased heart)

Question 11

What did Imam Ash-Shafi’is (may Allāh have mercy on him) teacher advise him when asked about ?

Answer 11

“I complained to my teacher about my poor memory, so he advised me to leave off sins and he said to me, know that knowledge is light, and the light of Allah سبحانه وتعالى is not given to a sinner”

Question 12

What did Sahl ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah سبحانه وتعالى have mercy on him) say regarding knowledge entering a diseased heart?

Answer 12

“It is forbidden/haraam for light/knowledge to enter into a heart that has things that Allah سبحانه وتعالى dislikes”

Question 13

What is the second principle that the shaykh mentions for seeking knowledge?

Answer 13

“Having sincerity in seeking knowledge”

Question 14

Why is having sincerity in seeking knowledge essential?

Answer 14

Seeking knowledge is a form of ibadah, and EVERY single ibadah has 2 conditions:

1) Ikhlas - has to be for the sake of Allah سبحانه وتعالى. If not, then a person can fall into shirk

2) Has to be in accordance with the sunnah of the messenger ﷺ. If not, then it can lead to bid’ah

Question 15

Where did Allah say in the Qur’an: “And they were not commanded except to worship Allāh, making the religion sincerely for Him/being sincere to him as pure monotheists/far away from worshipping other than him/devoting themselves exclusively to Him”

Answer 15

Surah Al-Bayyinah, ayah 5 (98:5)

وَمَآ أُمِرُوٓا۟ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ حُنَفَآءَ

(ikhlas is the foundation for all acts to be accepted)

Question 16

Finish the hadith - The messenger ﷺ “The reward of every action/deed is according to the intentions (of the person) __________________________

Answer 16

and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended”

Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 6689

(That’s why sometimes you may see 2 people praying next to each other in the masjid and 1 may be significantly rewarded because they are praying for Allah سبحانه وتعالى and have khushu’ (humility) in salah and so on whereas the other person may actually be sinning e.g., he is praying so that he can be praised)

Question 17

The scholars mention that knowledge is of 2 types. What are these 2 types?

Answer 17

Knowledge which is waajib upon every single Muslim (Fard al-‘Ayn) e.g., tawheed, salah, zakat etc therefore because it is waajib upon you as an individual

Knowledge which is sunnah/waajib upon a certain part of the ummah (Fard al-Kifayah) e.g., knowledge of inheritance, Salat al-Janazah. If you don’t know these things, then you as an individual are not sinning, however some members of the community should have knowledge of these things.

Question 18

What did the shaykh say is the reason the salaf reached the levels they reached?

Answer 18

The shaykh says the reason the salaf reached the levels they reached is because of the ikhlas (sincerity) that they had to Allah سبحانه وتعالى