بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
تعليم المتعلم طريق التعلم
Teaching the Learner the Methodology of Learning
Burhan Ad-Deen
Az-Zarnooji, like Ibn Jama’ah, was from the 6th Century. He was from a place called Zarnooj in Turkistan. This book is his only work that has been discovered.
Introduction
الحمد لله الذي فضّل بني آدم بالعلم و العمل على جميع العالم و الصلاة و السلام على محمد سيد العرب و العجم و على آله و أصحابه ينابيع العلوم و الحكم
و بعد
فلما رأيت كثيرا من طلاب العلم في زماننا يجدون إلى العلم و لا يصلون (من منافعه و ثمراته و هي العمل به و النشر - يحرمون) لما أنهم أخطأوا طريقه و تركوا شرائطه و كل من أخطأ الطريق ضل و لا ينال المقصود قل أو جل فأردت و أحببت أن أبين لهم طريق التعلم على ما رأيت في الكتب و سمعت من أساتيذي أولي العلم و الحكم رجاء الدعاء لي من الراغبين فيه المخلصين بالفوز و الخلاص في يوم الدين بعدما استخرت الله تعالى فيه، و سميته: تعليم المتعلم طريق التعلم
****
All praise be to Allah who favoured the Children of Adam with knowledge and action over the rest of the world, and may peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad, the master of the Arabs and non-Arabs, and upon his family and companions from whom knowledge and wisdom spring.
And what follows:
I have observed that many seekers of knowledge in our time work hard towards knowledge but do not attain it (I.e. they are deprived from its benefits and fruits, which are acting upon it and spreading it). This is because they mistake its path and abandon its conditions, and whomesoever mistakes the path will be misled and fail to reach his objective, be it little or great. Therefore, I desired to elucidate the methodology of learning according to what I have seen in books or heard from my learned and wise teachers.
Sheikh Hasan Bukhari commented on this book, saying:
- The fruits and benefits of knowledge are not a
certificate which you get or a test which you pass. Rather, it is acting upon
what you learn and teaching it to others.
- Whoever does
not enter from the right gate to knowledge will not reach his goal. Knowledge
has one way of entry and that is by taking care of its manners. If you lack
manners, you will not reach your goal.
فصل: في ماهية العلم و الفقه و فضله
Chapter 1 – The Nature of Knowledge and Understanding and its Merits
The Prophet ﷺ said,
طلب العلم فريضة على كل مسلم
“Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim.”
[Saheeh Ibn Majah #184 and graded Saheeh by Al-Albani]
[The addition على كل مسلم و مسلمة (upon every Muslim man and woman) is mentioned in the book, however, it is baslesss]
اعلم بأنه لا يفترض على كل مسلم طلب كل علم، و إنما يفترض عليه طلب علم الحال
Know that it is not obligatory
upon every Muslim to seek all aspects of knowledge, but rather, it is only incumbent upon him to seek علم الحال (I.e. Knowledge that relates to ones state).
علم الحال (Knowledge that relates to ones state) is the knowledge one needs in his particular state. For example, if one is going for Hajj, he needs to learn about Hajj. If he is going to enter the month of Ramadan, he needs to learn about the virtue of the month, fasting in it, etc.
كما يقال: 'و أفضل العلم علم الحال و أفضل العمل حفظ الحال
As it is said: The best of knowledge is the knowledge of ones state and the best of actions is that which preserves ones state
I.e. that which preserves your uprightness and keeps you away from misguidance. The best of deeds is that which maintains your reformation and faith, and not necessarily abundant and voluntary acts.
و يفترض على المسلم طلب ما يقع في حاله، في أي حال كان. فإنه لا بد من له من الصلاة فيفترض عليه علم ما يقع له في صلاته بقدر ما يؤذي به فرض الصلاة و يجب عليه بقدر ما يؤدي به الواجب، لأن ما يتوسل به إلى إقامة الفرض يكون فرضاً و ما يتوسل به إلى إقامة الواجب فهو واجب
It is incumbent upon the
Muslim to seek knowledge of what occurs in his state, whatever his state may be. Therefore, since one must perform the prayer, it is obligatory for him to know about what occurs in it, in accordance to how much he needs to know to fulfill its obligations. This is because whatever leads to fulfillment of a duty is itself a duty and whatever establishes an obligation is
itself an obligation.
و كذلك في الصوم و الزكاة إن كان له مال و الحج إن وجب عليه. و كذلك في البيوع إن كان يتجر. و كذلك في سائر المعاملات و الحرف، و كل من اشتغل بشيء منها يفترض عليه علم التحرز عن الحرام فيه
This too applies to fasting, paying Zakat - if one possesses wealth, and Hajj - when one is under obligation to perform it. It also applies to trading goods if one is engaged in commerce, and all other transactions and professions. Anyone who works in a given field is duty bound to learn how to guard against what is forbidden therein.
Many of us go to work
without knowing the Halal and Haraam in that field. This is negligence. Since
you have obliged yourself with certain actions, you have to have knowledge
about it.
و كذلك يفترض عليه علم أحوال القلب من التوكل و الإنابة و الخشية و الرضى فإنه واقع في جميع الأحوال
It is likewise obligatory upon the person to have knowledge about the conditions of the heart, such as reliance on Allah, returning to Him, fear, pleasure, etc. as they occur in all ones states.
Every act
of worship is preceded by an action of the heart. You should thus know the state
of your heart. You have to take care of your intention, your reliance on Allah,
your fear, your hope, etc.
The Virtue of Knowledge
و شرف العلم لا يخفى على أحد إذا هو المختص بالإنسانية لأن جميع الخصائل سوى العلم يشترك فيها الإنسان و سوى الحيوانات: كالشجاعة و الجراء و القوة و الجود و الشفقة و غيرها سوى العلم
The nobility of knowledge is not foreign to anyone since it is special to mankind. All virtuous characteristics (such as courage, boldness, strength, generosity, compassion, etc) are shared by both humans and animals, with the exception of knowledge.
به أظهر الله تعالى فضل آدم عليه السلام على الملآئكة و أمرهم بسجون له
By knowledge, Allah showed the prominence of Adam
(‘alayhis-salaam) over the angels and commanded them to prostrate to him.
و إنما شرف العلم بكونه وسيلة إلى البر و التقوى الذي يستحق بها المرأ الكرامة عند الله و السعادة الأبدية
And the merit of knowledge is only due to the fact that it is a means to righteousness and piety, which then entitle the believer to dignity with Allah and eternal happiness.
كما قيل لمحمد بن الحسن رحمة الله عليهما شعرا
As is mentioned that Muhammad ibn Al-Hasan (the companion of Abu Hanifa) used to say in poetry:
تعلم فإن العلم زين لأهله و فضل و عنوان لكل محاميد
و كن مستفيدا كل يوم زيادة من العلم واسبح في بحور الفوائد
تفقه فإن الفقه أفضل قائد إلى البر و التقوى و أعدل قاصد
هو العلم الهادي إلى سنن الهدى هو الحصن ينجى من جميع الشدائد
فإن فقيها واحد متورعا أشد على الشيطان من ألف عابد
Learn! For learning is an adornment for the one who possesses it.....and a virtue and prelude to everything praiseworthy.
Be a person who increases in benefit every day........of knowledge. And swim in the seas of benefit.
Understand! For indeed understanding knowledge is the best driver.....to righteousness and piety and the most just objectives.
It is the guiding knowledge to the guided ways ....and it is a fortress that rescues from all hardships.
For indeed one cautious Faqeeh......is more severe upon the devil than a thousand worshippers.
Worshippers may fall
into Bid’ah (innovation), but a scholar is strong against the Shaytan.
والعلم وسيلة إلى معرفة الكبر و التواضع و الألفة و العفة و الإسراف و التقتير و غيرها و كذلك في سائر الأخلاق نحو الجود و البخل والجبن و الجراءة
In addition to that, knowledge is a means of knowing arrogance, humility, unity, chasity, prodigality, stinginess, and similarly all other characteristics such as generosity, stinginess, cowardice, and courage.
فإن الكبر و البخل و الجبن والإسراف حرام و لا يمكن التحرز عنها إلا بعلمها و علم ما يضادها فيفترض على كل إنسان علمها
Arrogance, miserliness, cowardice, and prodigality are forbidden in Islam, and it is not possible to guard oneself against them except by first knowing them and knowing what is opppsite to them. Therefore, it is the duty of every person to have knowledge about them.
Humans have both good and bad
characteristics. Knowledge refines these manners and characteristics.
Summary:
-
The obligatory knowledge is:
a) Knowledge pertaining to ones state
b)
Knowledge about the conditions of the heart
The Virtue of Knowledge:
a) It is an honour for the person
b) It is the distinguishing factor between humans and animals
c) A person attains Paradise by it.
d) It is a fortress against hardship and the Shaytan
e) It guides the person to piety and righteousness
f) It refines human characteristics.
Because the Salaf
honoured the assemblies of knowledge, Allah honoured them.
Your manners in the gatherings of knowledge indicate how much you magnify
Allah. Similarly, if a person does not magnify the gatherings of knowledge, it is an indication of his lack of magnification of Allah. The Salaf used to take care of even their sitting in the assemblies, to the degree that you could not even hear the sound of pages flipping or pencils being sharpened in Imam Malik’s gatherings.
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