The late 70's to 80's was a time of turmoil and awakening in the Muslim World. It was initiated by the revolt in Iran which was promoted as Islamic, but which in fact was other than that.
There were those who were motivated by this revolt and the events which took place after, and there developed a greater thirst and effort in different parts of the world to gain knowledge. This needed to be protected and guided.
Shaikh Bakr Abu Zayd liked to write on topics where people went off in one way or another by going into extremes in their understanding. He saw the need to write a text during that period on the Etiquettes of Seeking Knowledge.
"The motives of the Shari'ah are affirmative upon the issue that to adorn oneself with beautiful etiquette, noble manners, good behaviour, and pious conduct are distinguishing characteristics of the people of Islam, and their knowledge - the most precise pearl in the crown of the purified Shari'ah - cannot be attained except by those who adorn themselves with its etiquette and those who leave evil qualities associated to it.
For this reason, the scholars devoted their attention to this etiquette, outlined its importance, and wrote books solely on this topic: either pertaining to general conduct with all types of knowledge or to specific types of knowledge such as the etiquette of the Carriers of the Noble Qur'an, the etiquette of the Muhaddith, the etiquette of the Muhtasib, and so on.
The issue of this book is the general conduct of those who take the path of learning the knowledge of the Shari'ah"
The concept of etiquette is enshrined in the statement of the Prophet ﷺ:
بُعِثْتُ لِأُتَمِّمَ حُسْنَ الْأَخْلَاقِ
"I have been sent to perfect good character" [Al-Muwatta]
The Prophet ﷺ already laid down the goal of the Shari'ah - to develop good manners. It goes back to morality.
And this begins with ones relationship with Allah. What should our manners and behaviour be with regards to Allah? The proper etiquette is that all the forms of our worship should be directed to Him alone. Bad etiquette is to worship other than Him.
And there's more detail to this. Part of it is knowing who Allah is - that He is completely different from His creation. If we think He is like His creation, we can develop the bad habit of creating idols. It's not that those who worship idols disbelieve in God, but by not knowing who He is, they ended up with the wrong etiquette in worshipping Him. And this is the problem Christians face till today. They are sincere in worshipping God, but they don't know who He is. By thinking God became a man, they ended up worshipping a man. And this is something immoral.
The Shari'ah teaches us particular manners with regards to other human beings - that we are just in dealing with them, we do not deceive, cheat, bribe, etc. This has a huge range and includes husband-wife, parent-children relationships. There are etiquettes we need to follow in all these different circumstances.
It also teaches us to deal with the creation and world around us. Allah mentions in so many places in the Qur'an that He subjected "سخر" all this creation for us. We have a responsibility in how we utilize this creation, and the Prophet ﷺ outlined what is permissible and what is not.
For example, it's considered bad etiquette to kill animals for sport. In the West hunting as a sport, or going on a Safari and shooting down elephants, cutting off their heads and sticking it on the wall, was a lifestyle made by the rich.
From the Islamic perspective, this is حرام. We only take the life of an animal for a need.
Islam laid down these principles 1400 years ago. Only now people got around to telling others to quit the sport, after endangering all the species.
Similarly, with the various areas of the Shari'ah, the scholars identified specific etiquettes which should be followed in order to preserve the moral principles governing them. Sheikh Bakr Abu Zayd, mentions as an example, the texts which were written on the etiquettes of the حملة القران, the محدثون, etc.
E.g. When the scholars of Hadith sat in learning circles, they read back to their Sheikh, keeping record of what was recording. This played a particular role in preserving the Hadith literature. This was to ensure that false information as not conveyed inadvertently. If you found a Hadith book, for example, you wouldn't be allowed to narrate it, just inform others that you found the book. The principles of copyright existed long before it was introduced in the West.
The Etiquettes of the Student of Knowledge
"In the past the scholars used to dictate to the seekers in the gatherings of knowledge, the etiquette of seeking (knowledge), and I reached the time of the last highlights of that era in some of the gatherings in the Noble Prophetic Mosque, as some of the teachers therewith used to teach their seekers the book by Zarnoojee رحمه الله which he named 'Teaching the learner the way of learning'
I hope that the scholars will extend this firm rope that leads to the most noble of ways, by including the teaching of this topic at the beginning of the gatherings in the Masajid and as a topic in academic curriculums. Similarly, I hope that this will be a good opening in reviving this topic, which is a means of disciplining the seeker and taking him on the path of adherence in his etiquette in seeking and carrying knowledge, and his etiquette with himself, his teacher, his lessons, his colleagues, his books, and the fruits of his knowledge and so on in the latter stages of his life."
The book by Zarnoojee (a scholar from the 13th century) was a popular book to be read before classes, as a foundation for studying.
The etiquette exists to ensure you reach the goal you're studying knowledge for in the first place. The author clarifies in the book that the ultimate goal is the worship of Allah and seeking the pleasure of Allah, and there are many evidences which support this. If you don't have the correct intention, all this effort to seek knowledge will be wasted.
"So to you I present this book that contains a number of manners that if a person was to neglect them, he would have acquired an evil characteristic. (I also mentioned) a number of things that oppose these manners and a number of evil characteristics. There are people who neglect a few and some who neglect many. These manners also vary in their levels, from being supererogatory to being obligatory. Similarly, the things which oppose these manners are also levels that vary from being things which are disliked to things being forbidden.
Amongst these manners there are also things which apply to everybody in general and there are things that specifically apply to the seeker of knowledge and there are some which are known by necessity from the Shari'ah and some that are known through common sense, but there is a general indication to them in the Shari'ah (such as having good conduct and noble manners). I also do not intend to encompass all the aspects of etiquette, but it's layout is in a manner that gives slight hints and points you to the priorities, so if a good soul comes across this book, then it would take this small amount of etiquette mentioned and increase it, and that which is general and specify it, and whoever takes that which is therein will benefit from it and in turn benefit others. It is within itself taken from the etiquette of those whom Allah has blessed their knowledge, and made them into Imams, and those who are taken as examples of guidance, May Allah gather us with them in His Paradise. Ameen"
He mentioned on one hand the positives, and on the other hand the negatives - in order that people can protect themselves from them.
The author took experiences of the scholars of the past, what they did to absorb knowledge, and made deductions from it.
For example, one of the scholars of the past tried to prevent himself from falling into backbiting, knowing it was حرام. He made an oath to fast every time he caught himself backbiting. But he just seemed to be wearing himself out, fasting every day. Then he got the idea to give 1 dinar in charity every time he backbit, and he overcame this bad habit.
So we learn from their experiences how they controlled and protected themselves, tackled bad habits, and what they did to ensure they lived a life which was pleasing to Allah.
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