Chosen Islamic Manners
Necessary Manners for One who is Seeking Knowledge
*One should seek knowledge sincerely for the sake of Allah.
*One should realize the importance and praiseworthiness of seeking Shari'ah knowledge.
*One should ask Allah Almighty to grant them success in attaining beneficial
knowledge.
*One should travel in pursuit of seeking knowledge if
necessary.
*One should attend as many lectures and sittings of knowledge he
can.
*If someone attends a lecture or circle of knowledge after it has
started, it is better for him not to greet anyone, for this might lead to the
interruption of that session. If it is certain that he will not interrupt the
session, then it is a Sunnah practice for him to greet those in the
circle.
*It is narrated that Imam Ahmed, may
Allah have mercy on him, was asked by a man: 'I am seeking knowledge and my mother is preventing me from seeking it.
She wants me to work in a trade. He said to him: 'Be kind to her and make her happy, but do not forsake your quest to
seek knowledge.' (Al a'daab
ash-Share'yah 2/53)
*Not applying what one has learned of knowledge is a primary cause
for one to lose the Barakah (blessing
and goodness) of knowledge. Allah dispraises these people saying: O
you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is hatred in
the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do. (61:2-3)
Imam Ahmed,
may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'I have not written a hadeeth of the Prophet
(pbuh)
except that I put it into practice. When I came across the hadeeth of the
Prophet (pbuh) in which it states that he cupped[1] and gave the cupper
(Abu Taibah) a dinar, I cupped and gave the cupper a Dinar as well. (Al a'daab ash-Share'yah 2/145)
*One should be saddened by the death of Scholars. One should try to
emulate them in their manners. Al-Khal'laal narrated in his book 'Manners of Imam Ahmed' on the authority
of Ibrahim, may Allah have mercy on
him that he said:
'When
they approached a man from whom they wished to take knowledge, they would look
at him while he performed prayers and view his manners in general and his outer
appearance. After this they would take knowledge from him.'
Al-A'mash, may
Allah have mercy on him, said: 'They
would learn from the jurist everything; even how to wear their clothes and
shoes.'
*One should be of high morale and character when seeking knowledge.
*One should regularly attend sessions of knowledge and not become
lazy.
*One should not despair or belittle himself when learning;
especially if what he is learning is difficult. One should be mindful of the
words of Allah, the Exalted:
And Allah has extracted you from the wombs of your mothers not knowing a thing. (16:78)
*One should attend sessions of knowledge early and utilize his time
in the best manner.
*If one is late in attending a session of knowledge or lecture,
they should ask their companions about what they had missed during the
beginning of that lesson.
*One should jot down all beneficial points that are learned from a lesson in an exercise book.
*One should regularly review the points that he has noted down.
*Before buying a book, skim through
it.
*One should not toss their books on the ground. A man tossed a book
on the ground in the presence of Imam
Ahmed and he became angry and exclaimed:
'Is
this how you treat the statements of the Pious Predecessors?' (Al a'daab ash-Share'yah 3/389)
*One should not
interrupt a Sheik when he is talking. If one has a comment or needs to ask, he
should wait until the Sheik finishes what he wants to say and then ask. Imam
Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote in his Saheeh collection the
following: 'Chapter: Whoever is asked
about something while he is busy talking and then completes his speech.' Imam
Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, then
mentioned the hadeeth: 'A Bedouin asked
the Prophet (pbuh) while he was
delivering a speech, 'when will the Final Hour be established?' The Prophet
(pbuh)
continued with his speech and did not answer his question until he finished his
speech. He (pbuh) then said: 'Where is
the one who asked about the Final Hour?'
Imam Ibn
al-Jozi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: 'When one is confused about a Hadeeth, they should have patience and
wait for that individual to complete his talk. After this, one may ask the
Sheik in a kind and appropriate manner to explain himself. He should not
interrupt the Sheik while he is talking.'
*One should ask their questions in a good, appropriate manner. One
should not ask unnecessary questions or a question he knows its answer, so that
he may appear as a knowledgeable person. One should not ask questions about
things that have not occurred. The Pious Predecessors would scornfully look at
one who asked these types of question.
*One should implement what they have learned and be among those who
attend the congregation early.
*One should implement what he has learned in his daily life. Imam
Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned in his book: 'Chapter: A man should teach his slave girl
and family.' He then mentioned the hadeeth of Abu Musa alAsh'ari ()
in which he said that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
'Three types of people will receive a double reward: A man
from the People of the Book who believed in his Prophet and then believed in
Muhammad (pbuh); a slave who
fulfilled the rights of Allah and the rights of his master and a man who had a
slave girl. He raised her and taught her good manners and then freed her and
married her. He will receive a double reward.' (Fath al-Bari 1/229)
*One should read the biographies of the
scholars.
*One should read and educate themselves of the rulings that pertain
to certain occasions in Islam, such as those that pertain to the month of
Ramadhan and the like.
*One should
purchase books which detail the jurisprudential laws concerning different
issues and cases of Fiqh.
*One should start with the most important matters when learning,
for the Prophet (pbuh) would start with the most important matters. Utban b. Malik
(pbuh)
called the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and said to him:
'I want you to perform prayer in my home so that I can use
the place you perform prayer in as a Musalla
(place of prayer). The Prophet (pbuh) went to his house with a group of his companions and when they reached
the house of Utban (pbuh) they sought permission and entered. Utban (pbuh) had prepared some food for them, but the Prophet (pbuh) did not immediately eat; rather, he said: 'Where do you want me to
perform prayer?' He showed him the place and the Prophet (pbuh) prayed and then ate the food.' (Bukhari & Muslim)
*One should not claim knowledge in matters they have no knowledge
in.
*One should praise Allah Almighty, the Exalted, when he mentions Him.
*One should ask Allah Almighty to exalt the mention of the Prophet (pbuh)
whenever his name is mentioned.[2]
*One should ask Allah Almighty to be pleased and happy with the Companions (pbuh)
whenever they are mentioned.[3]
*One should ask Allah to have mercy on the scholars, when they are mentioned.
*One should attribute a certain Hadeeth which is found in the
collections of Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim and others, to Imam Bukhari
and/or Imam Muslim.
*One should verify what he is
transmitting to others.
*One should not belittle any beneficial
piece of knowledge.
*One should not hide knowledge.
*One should not use weak or fabricated narrations to support their
opinions.
*One should not state that a certain Hadeeth is weak unless he asks
about it or researches it.
*One should not defer issues that people commonly ask about. He
should realize that when he researches these issues, he will benefit as
well.
*One should carry with him a small notepad to write down beneficial
notes.
*One should not excessively indulge in
lawful things.
*One should not busy himself with photocopying manuscripts or
gathering similar manuscripts for one book, unless there is a genuine purpose
for doing that.
*One should visit Islamic libraries and see what books are
available.
*One should avoid using terms that are confusing or can be easily
misconstrued.
*One should not be in a hurry when listening to someone or reading
a text. They should be sure that they understand the proper meaning. Imam Ibn
al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said that Abu Ayoub as-Sakhtiyaani, may
Allah have mercy on him, would request the questioner to repeat himself. If he
managed to repeat the question as he did at first, he would answer his
question; otherwise, he would not answer his question. (I'laam
al-Mo'waq'e'een 2/187)
*One should spend time reading books of Fatawa (religious verdicts).
*One should not rush to 'generally' negate a matter when he is not
sure.[4]
*If one narrates a Hadeeth in its meaning, he should clarify that
he is doing that.
*One should not praise himself.
*One should happily accept one's
critique about himself.
*One should not despair when he sees that only a few have actually
benefited from his talk. Imam adh-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him,
mentioned that only eight or nine students would sit with Ata' bin Abee Rabaah,
may Allah have mercy on him, to learn.10
*One should not waste time researching things of little or no
benefit; this includes researching matters such as the color of the dog of the
People of the Cave, or the fruit which Adam and Eve (pbut) ate from, or the diameters
and width of the ship of Noah (pbuh).
*One should not busy themselves gathering irrelevant benefits and
points, while researching a certain matter.
*When talking one should talk clearly and use words that can be
easily understood. One should not use terms which are easily misconstrued or
are not understandable.
*One should not talk without knowledge, nor should he feel uneasy
when not being able to answer a question.
*One should not be disturbed by one's insults against him, as long
as they do not put down the Deen of
Allah.
*One should be careful not to become lazy when seeking
knowledge.
*One should perform the night
prayer.
*One should not rest, sleep or talk for excessive periods of time.
They should try their best to seek knowledge.
*A student of knowledge should be keen
to:
a.
Help take care of the needs of people. The Prophet
()
said:
'Intercede on behalf of others (to make their affairs easy) and you will be rewarded.' (Bukhari)
b.
Fulfill their promises. Allah, the Exalted, praises
his Prophets and Messengers, and says:
Indeed he was true to his promise. (19 : 54)
c.
Be kind and compassionate. Allah, the Exalted,
says: Take
what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant. (7:199)
Imam As-Sam'aani, may Allah have mercy on
him, in his book 'Al-Ansab' and Imam
Adth-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book 'Tajreed as-Sahabah' mentioned in the biography of Auf b. Nu'man
that he said: 'A man during the
pre-Islamic era would contemplate on dying out of thirst and not be one who
breaks his promises.'
d.
Be humble. The Prophet () said:
'Indeed Allah has revealed to me that you should humble
yourselves. No one should boast about himself to the other. No one should
transgress
against the other.' (Muslim)
e.
Be happy and greet others and listen to their
problems.
f. Give sincere counseling and remind
people of the Hereafter. Ikrimah () said that Ibn Abbas ()
said: 'Remind people once a week, twice
a week or three times a week. One should not cause people to become
uninterested in the Qur'an. Do not interrupt people when they are talking or
cause them to become bored. Listen to them till they finish talking and once
they finish talking and allow you to speak, talk to them while they have the
wish to listen to you. Woe to you, do not use rhyming phrases when supplicating Allah, for I did not see the Messenger
of Allah (pbuh) or his Companions do
that.
g. Ali () said: 'Inform people
of what they know.' In this there is a proof that one should not confuse
people with issues of difference. One should talk to people on their level of
understanding.
Ibn Masood () said: 'You will not address a people with a matter that is beyond their level of comprehension except that you will cause some of them to fall into fitnah.'
[1] Cupping is a treatment in
which evacuated glass cups are applied to intact or scarified skin in order to
draw blood toward or through the surface.
[2] One does this by saying: 'Sal'lal-laa'who
a'lai'he wa sal'lam' whenever his name is mentioned.
[3] One does this by saying: 'Ra-de'yal'laawho
an-who' after a male companion's name and by saying 'Ra-de'yal'laawho
an-haa' after a female companion's name.
[4] At times when one is asked
about something, they may say: 'There is no such thing as this<' one should
avoid this and rather say: 'I have not heard of this matter.' 10 Se'yar a'laam an-no'ba'laa 8/107
to be continued . . . .
