Advice to the common muslim on seeking knowledge
Question :
What are the books which are proper to be read by the common muslim without requiring to sit with a teacher?
Answer:
There is no book by which a person is capable of being indepedent of the teachers, especially if the case is that he is in India. Foreign dialects have become widespread, many of the people who speak arabic don’t speak well many statements and don’t understand them. Even many of the arabs who speak arabic are required to study many affairs and sciences of knowledge so it does not suffice. It does not suffice that you have with you one, two or three books, instead seek knowledge and be eager towards knowledge.
وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدۡنِي عِلۡمٗا
“and say: “My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (Taha 114)
Atleast, learn regarding the deen that which is obligatory. So there’s no one or two or three books regarding which we can say to the common muslim ‘Read them and it will suffice you from studying and (sitting with a) teacher’. Even the student of knowledge, there is no single book that would suffice him and he needs to study many books. But there are books which contain the important lessons so the beginner student should start with these but as for sufficing by one two or three books then no. So regarding tawheed you need to study a number of books and likewise in aqeedah and some of them are more vast and cover many affairs so a single book doesn’t suffice him. Likewise, the student needs to study sciences of hadith and fiqh and etiquettes and many branches of knowledge.
Answered by
Shaykh Abu Amr Abdul Kareem Al Hajooree hafidhahullah
Source:
https://t.me/abuamroalhgoury/7023
Translated by
Abu Muhammad Nezam Al-Hindi