Advice of Scholars - THE VALUE OF LEARNING KNOWLEDGE

It is declared in the Hadîth ash-sherîfs; ‘Allâhu ta’âlâ and angels and all creatures pray for him who teaches people what is good’; ‘On the Day of Judgement, first prophets, then scholars and then martyrs will intercede’; ‘O Men! Be it known that knowledge can be acquired by listening to the scholar’; ‘Learn knowledge! Learning knowledge is an ’ibâda. The teacher and the learner of knowledge will be given the reward of jihâd. Teaching knowledge is like giving alms. Learning knowledge from the scholar is like performing midnight salât. ’ ” Tâhir Buhâri, the author of the fatwâ book Khulâsa, states: “Reading fiqh books is more thawâb than performing salât at nights. For, it is fard to learn the fards and harâms from [’âlims or their] books.

To read fiqh books in order to carry out what is learned or to teach others is better than performing salât at-tasbîh. It is declared in a hadîth ash-sherîf, ‘Learning knowledge is more thawâb than all supererogatory ’ibâdât, for it is useful both for oneself and for those whom one will teach’; ‘The person who learns in order to teach others will be rewarded like siddîqs. ’ Islamic knowledge can be learned only from a master and from books. Those who say that Islamic books and guides are unnecessary are liars or zindîqs. They deceive Muslims and lead them to ruination. The knowledge in religious books is derived from the Qur’ân al-kerîm and the Hadîth ash-sherîf. ”