Adab 02: Traversing the Path of Knowledge

“Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim,” said the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. Namely, learning specifically that by which you can validate your religious obligations is a duty which none are exempt from. Beyond that, however, we enter the realm of those who want to learn and apply the Divine Address more fully. In doing so, there are duties and manners which need to be upheld in order to truly benefit from a share of the prophetic inheritance.

The famous sage and scholar, Ibn ‘Ata’ Illah al Iskandari, may Allah sanctify his secret, remarked in an aphorism:

“If sacred knowledge is accompanied with reverential awe (khashya) [of the divine], it will be for you. Otherwise, it will count against you.”

Knowledge, thus, brings about a weighty responsibility and essentially entails carrying something of the prophetic message. Naturally, the expectation for those who carry it and have been honored with it isn’t the same as that for others.

In our desire to become true students, we have to uphold the kind of adab, or right etiquette, that colors Allah’s elect. People of knowledge are chosen by Allah Most High, and we cannot do anything more but to aspire to the way of those whose scholarship is recognized by one and all in the hope that we may become of them in our own distinct ways. It is reported that Imam Abu Hanifa said, “If the jurists (fuqaha) aren’t the elect (awliya’) of Allah, then Allah has no elect servant (wali).”

The one who acts according to his knowledge with sincerity is the true faqih, even if he knows only a little. What we see from the righteous, godfearing scholars is that they had a tremendous amount of adab in their seeking of sacred knowledge. Imam al Halwani, a giant of the early Hanafi tradition, famously remarked, “I’ve never touched even a piece of paper without wudu.” This was his state with that which will [eventually] contain knowledge, so what then of the knowledge itself? Being true students is a tall order, and we can only hope that if we traverse in the right direction with the right attitude, that Allah will complete this matter for us.

At the end of the day, this matter is about you and your Lord. It is not about test scores, refutations or knowing more than others. This realization should bring about in us a sense of reverence for what this is and what it is for, namely, worship. If sacred knowledge isn’t transforming us and altering our very being, it is time for some introspection.

A good start, then, is to remind ourselves of the adab, or proper duties and manners, to be upheld in studying and seeking. This is what we’ll be striving to remind ourselves of here, insha’Allah.

Intention and Sincerity

It cannot be lost on any of us that the point of learning what Allah Most High and His Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, commanded is to actually do what they said. Accordingly, the primary intention in one’s seeking should be to please Allah Most High alone. A reminder of this point is the verse, “they were only commanded to worship Allah alone with sincere devotion to Him in all uprightness.” (Sura al Bayyina 98:5) Learning is worship when it is for Allah. But worship only truly takes place when there is knowledge.

The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “Actions are only by their intentions, and each person shall get whatever they intend.” He also said, Allah bless him and give him peace: “The intention of a believer is greater than his action.”

This gives us something to be hopeful for because even if our studies never fully kick off, we will be rewarded in accordance with our intention and not what actually happened. But take your first step with the right intention, and ask Allah to take care of the rest for you.

Priorities and Focus

Khatib al-Baghdadi relates from Qadi Abu Yusuf, the most senior companion of Imam Abu Hanifa, that he remarked:

“Knowledge is something which will not give you even a part of itself until you give it all of yourself. And even if you give it all of yourself, it may not give you anything at all.”

What he is telling us here is that you will not attain unto this sacred knowledge until you give it all you’ve got of your time and energy. Essentially, it cannot be a mere hobby, but something taken very seriously.

Now, this is obviously with respect to somebody on the road to becoming a scholar, but the same can be applied to somebody merely seeking to learn something of their religion. If you are listening to recordings or attending live sessions, don’t browse the internet, update your social media, have a conversation, sleep (!) or do anything which indicates a lack of sincere concern and interest.

If you want to learn, you have to give what you’ve got. Anything worth having takes time and effort, and gaining sacred knowledge is no different.

Consultation

Consulting is imperative for anybody seeking to traverse the path of the righteous scholars of the past. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, indicated this “trodden path” in the famous tradition (hadith) of seeking knowledge. It should be noted that consultation in this context would refer to a variety of matters, but what is of primary concern here, is to consult regarding from whom knowledge should be taken. Clearly, there is a difference between a caller (da‘i) and a scholar (‘alim/shaykh), and you should know well how to benefit from both.

Imam Shatibi demarcated what should be sought of in a teacher of sacred knowledge. If any of these matters are missing, you should be wary of taking from such a person. One: he acts in accordance with his knowledge. Two: his knowledge is taken from genuine scholars. Three: he follows the way of those he took from.

The point of consultation is to ask somebody knowledgable, righteous and trustworthy about the wisdom in undertaking whatever you are about to do. If you don’t know who to ask, you should read about the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and the way he was, and ask the person that most resembles what you read.

Mastery

As ‘Abd al-Razzaq al-San‘ani said: “Every type of knowledge which doesn’t enter the lavatory with you isn’t real knowledge.” This doesn’t mean you should take your library into the restroom! Rather, the sign of knowledge is mastery and memorization such that you don’t need your books to explain the point. Others have noted this as “students of the day” and “students of the night.” The former require light to look in their books, but the latter aren’t in need of them. Imam Ghazali reportedly learnt this the hard way when his books were stolen from him on a journey.

The early Muslims would learn prophetic traditions and the religion in general by taking something small and applying it in their lives until it became second nature to them. There are two lessons we can take away from this. Firstly, memorization needn’t be specifically rote, but anything by which you can learn the details would be considered memorization.

Secondly, you need to be gradual and practical in your learning. If you jump ahead to commentaries, glosses or specialized sciences, you will simply get lost in a sea of knowledge. Rather, the first step is to learn the most important rulings, and then to grow in knowledge by consulting with those who have already traversed the path. There is much that can be said here, but we’ll suffice with this, insha Allah.

Preparation and Review

This is an extension of the previous point. The only way to become a person of knowledge, namely, scholarly in the outward sense, is to take the means of mastery. What this practically entails is that you prepare for your classes by, at the very least, going over the material you’ll be covering. This process of preparation, when done right, is extremely beneficial. Similarly, reviewing the material after the lesson, or ideally, discussing it with your fellow classmates, if any, is very important as it helps to actually consolidate the material covered.

The idea is to ensure that you are always actively engaging with the material. Knowledge cannot simply be deposited into you. “Seeker” is an active participle. It entails that some effort and action is going into the matter. Any manner of fulfilling this which demonstrably works would be acceptable, but the key is to have something in place. Again, there are many specifics which have been left out here, but hopefully the idea is plain.

We ask Allah Most High to facilitate for us His Good Pleasure in this life before the next, and that He bless us with the tremendous gift of true knowledge and practice so that we may be with those He loves.

“And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger will be in the company of those blessed by Allah: the prophets, the people of truth, the martyrs, and the righteous — what honorable company!” (Sura al Nisa 4:69)

Seeking Beneficial Knowledge and Practice

Beneficial knowledge is a light which Allah casts into the heart of the one who possesses it. This light brings about reverential awe (khashya) of the Divine which manifests upon the limbs and in the person’s character and dealings, transforming him into an “imam,” a leader to be followed and a prophetic inheritor. Thus, the fruits of your knowledge should be plain in the way you are. If you aren’t doing what you’ve learnt, there is a problem.

Sufyan ibn ‘Uyayna once remarked, “The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, is the perfected criterion, and everything is measured against his character, disposition and guidance. Whatever corresponds to it is truth, and whatever contradicts it is falsehood.” The upshot is that beneficial knowledge is that which is transformative. It calls you to an increase in everything from righteous works to your state with Allah, and makes you put Allah first in life such that you see Him before you proceed with anything.

Humility and Saying “I don’t know”

Sajiqli Zada mentioned a report in his brilliant treatise, Tartib al ‘Ulum, where he says that our master ‘Ali, may Allah ennoble his face, was asked a question whilst he was upon the pulpit and he responded with, “I don’t know.” He was told that this isn’t where you should be standing if you don’t know the answer. So he remarked, “This is where you stand if you know things and don’t know others. As for somebody who [thinks he] knows everything, he has no place.” Such a person is all dressed up for people, with no place to go.

The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “No servant ever humbled himself before Allah Most High except that He raised him.” (Muslim) Imam Shafi‘i stated that he saw Imam Malik being asked forty-eight questions to which he responded to thirty-two of them by saying, “I don’t know.” What this should teach us is that there is no shame in not knowing something. Rather, it is shameful to respond when you don’t know. Studying is a lifelong journey and the religion is deep and vast, so take your time and avoid making false claims.

Good Companions

Allah Most High said, “O believers! Be mindful of Allah and be with the truthful.” (Sura al Tawba 9:119) And the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “A person is on the religion of his close companion, so let each of you look well to whom he takes as a close companion.” (Tirmidhi; Abu Dawud)

Companionship (suhba) is important (we’ll be looking at this in more detail in a future article, insha’Allah). Ibn Jama‘a noted that “dispositions take from one another.” Naturally, then, a student of knowledge would do well to surround himself and keep the close companionship of those who will increase his state, either in knowledge or character, or some other virtuous trait like his work-ethic or resolve. The simple idea is that when you see hardworking people, for example, you are more likely to work hard.

Gratitude and Honoring Knowledge and Its Folk

One of the secrets of Divine Increase is sincere gratitude to Allah. Whether you understood the lesson or you didn’t understand, be grateful for the opportunity and what little you did understand, even if only the words themselves (and not the meanings intended), and you will see an increase. Allah Most High says, “If you show gratitude, I will surely increase you.” (Sura Ibrahim 14:7) If you strive with sincerity and are truly grateful, you can be sure to receive a tremendous windfall.

Gratitude, namely, directing blessings toward that for which they were created, includes benefiting from people of knowledge. But in doing so, we need to give scholars of sacred knowledge the respect and honor they deserve by being inheritors of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace. This sense of veneration (ta‘dhim) is a duty of those seeking closeness to Allah. As one of the elect said, “Nobody deems the rank and worth of the elect of Allah to be tremendous, except somebody who is of tremendous rank and worth with Allah.”

Allah Is the Giver

This is a return to the point we began with: Allah chooses beneficial knowledge for those He wishes. As we learn from our studies in Theology (‘aqida), there is no necessary correlation between cause and effect. Allah is the creator of everything, and He gives to whosoever He wills. Studying day and night for a decade doesn’t necessarily make a deeply learned person, just as studying on weekends for a decade doesn’t make a well-educated Muslim. Of course, this is usually the case, but the point is that these matters are means which are necessary, but not intrinsically relied upon.

Hence, we should focus our hearts on Allah in our seeking, and not busy ourselves with knowledge from Allah who is the point from beginning to end. If knowledge isn’t making you more Allah-centered, then it is not true knowledge. When somebody remarked to Imam Ahmad that Ma‘ruf al Karkhi, an early ascetic, scholar in his own right, and deeply devotional man, wasn’t very [outwardly] knowledgeable (in comparison to those who were busy with knowledge, but missing the greater point!), he said: “Be quiet! May Allah pardon you. Is the point of knowledge anything other than what Ma‘ruf attained unto?”

May Allah Most High bless us with an ever-increasing state of adab in all our affairs, deep gratitude which He is pleased with, and a heart which can discern truth from falsehood by His Grace. “Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Yourself and guide us rightly through our ordeal.” (Sura al Kahf 18:10)