تَعْلِيمُ الْمُتَعَلِّمِ طَرِيقَ التَّعَلُّمِ

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Introduction.

All praise is due to Allah, who favoured the children of Adam — through knowledge and action — above all the rest of creation. Blessings and peace upon Muḥammad, master of Arabs and non-Arabs, and upon his family and Companions, the wellsprings of the sciences and of wisdom.

To proceed:

When I saw that many students of sacred knowledge in our time strive earnestly for knowledge yet fail to reach it — and are deprived of its benefits and fruits, namely acting upon it and disseminating it — because they have missed its proper path and abandoned its conditions; and since whoever misses the path goes astray and does not obtain the goal, be it small or great — I therefore wished and desired to set out for them the path of learning, drawing on what I have read in books and heard from my teachers, the people of knowledge and wisdom; hoping for the prayers of the sincere who seek it, that I may attain success and deliverance on the Day of Recompense; after seeking Allah's guidance in the matter (istikhārah), I named it:

“The Instruction of the Learner in the Method of Learning.”

And I have arranged it in chapters:

Chapter 1: On the nature of knowledge ('ilm) and jurisprudence (fiqh), and on their excellence.

Chapter 2: On intention (niyyah) in the state of learning.

Chapter 3: On the choice of the branch of knowledge, of the teacher, of the fellow-student, and on steadfastness.

Chapter 4: On revering knowledge and those who possess it. Chapter 5: On diligence, steady perseverance, and high ambition.

Chapter 6: On the beginning of the lesson, its proper amount, and its arrangement. Chapter 7: On reliance upon Allah (tawakkul). Chapter 8: On the proper time for acquiring knowledge.

Chapter 9: On compassion and sincere counsel (naṣīḥah). Chapter 10: On benefitting from others and drawing refined conduct (adab) from them.

Chapter 11: On scrupulous piety (wara') during the state of learning. Chapter 12: On what produces memorisation, and on what produces forgetfulness.

Chapter 13: On what draws down provision (rizq) and what withholds it; and on what increases lifespan and what diminishes it.

“And my success is only through Allah. Upon Him I place my trust, and to Him I turn in repentance.”

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: “Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim man and every Muslim woman.”

Know that it is not obligatory upon every Muslim to seek every branch of knowledge. Rather, what is obligatory upon him is to seek the knowledge of his present state ('ilm al-ḥāl), as it is said: “The best of knowledge is the knowledge of one's state, and the best of action is preserving one's state.”

It is obligatory upon the Muslim to seek the knowledge of whatever befalls him in his state, in whichever state he may be. Since prayer is indispensable for him, it becomes obligatory upon him to know what pertains to his prayer to the measure by which he can discharge the obligation of prayer; and it is incumbent upon him to the extent by which he discharges the duty — because that through which an obligation is fulfilled is itself an obligation.

The same applies to fasting and to zakāt — if he possesses wealth — and to the pilgrimage if it becomes obligatory upon him. Likewise in commercial transactions, if he engages in trade.

It was said to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (may Allah have mercy upon him): “Why do you not compose a book on asceticism (zuhd)?” He answered: “I have already composed a book on commercial transactions” — meaning that the true ascetic is one who guards against doubtful and disliked dealings in trade.

The same applies to all other transactions and crafts. Everyone who engages in any of them is required to know how to keep clear of what is forbidden in it. Likewise, it is obligatory upon him to know the states of the heart — reliance upon Allah (tawakkul), turning to Him (inābah), reverent awe of Him (khashyah), and contentment (riḍā) — for these are present in every condition.

The nobility of knowledge is hidden from no one, for it is the distinguishing attribute of humanity. All qualities apart from knowledge — courage, boldness, strength, generosity, compassion, and the rest — are shared between human beings and the other animals; only knowledge is exclusively human.

It was through knowledge that Allah Most High made manifest the excellence of Adam (peace be upon him) over the angels, and commanded them to prostrate before him.

Knowledge is ennobled only because it is a means to righteousness (birr) and God-consciousness (taqwā), through which a person merits honour with Allah and eternal felicity, as has been said —

Lines of verse attributed to Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan (may Allah have mercy upon them both):

Learn! For knowledge is an ornament to its people, / a distinction, and a sign of every praiseworthy trait.

Be one who gains, every day, some further increase / of knowledge — and plunge into the seas of its benefits.

Acquire deep understanding, for fiqh is the best of guides / to righteousness and God-consciousness, and the most upright of signposts.

It is the banner that directs to the paths of guidance, / it is the fortress that delivers from every hardship.

For a single, scrupulously-pious jurist is harsher / upon Satan than a thousand devout worshippers.

Knowledge, moreover, is the means by which one recognises: pride and humility, intimacy and chastity, extravagance and miserly stinginess, and the like — and likewise in all other moral traits such as generosity, miserliness, cowardice, and boldness.

For pride, miserliness, cowardice, and extravagance are forbidden, and one cannot guard against them except through knowing them — and knowing what opposes them. So it becomes obligatory upon a person to possess this knowledge.

The master, the most eminent Imām, the teacher, the martyr Naṣīr al-Dīn Abū al-Qāsim composed a book entitled “Al-Akhlāq” (Ethics) — and what an excellent work he composed; every Muslim is bound to preserve its contents.

As for the memorisation of what occurs only occasionally, it is obligatory only as a communal duty (farḍ kifāyah). If some in a town attend to it, it is lifted from the rest. But if there is no one in the town who undertakes it, all share in the sin; and the ruler is obliged to command them and to compel the townspeople to attend to it.

It has been said: knowledge of what befalls a person himself in all states is like food — no one can do without it. Knowledge of what occurs only occasionally is like medicine — it is needed only at certain times. And the knowledge of astrology ('ilm al-nujūm) is like sickness; learning it is forbidden, for it harms and does not… [continues p. 12]

[continuing from the previous page:] …and does not benefit; and to flee from God's decree (qaḍāʼ) and predestination (qadar) is not possible.

Every Muslim should occupy himself at all times with the remembrance of Allah Most High (dhikr), supplication, humble entreaty (taḍarru‘), recitation of the Qur'an, almsgiving that wards off calamity, and prayer; and let him ask Allah for forgiveness and well-being in this world and the next, that Allah may shield him from calamity and afflictions. For whoever has been granted the gift of supplication will not be denied the response.

However: if one learns from the science of stars only enough to determine the qibla and the times of prayer, that is permitted. As for learning medicine, it is permitted, for it is one of the causes [God has placed in the world], and the learning of any cause is permitted, like other causes. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself sought medical treatment.

It is related of al-Shāfi‘ī (may Allah have mercy upon him) that he said: “Knowledge is of two kinds: the knowledge of jurisprudence, for the religions; and the knowledge of medicine, for the bodies. Anything beyond these two is mere conversation-fodder for a gathering.”

As for the explanation of ‘knowledge’ ('ilm): it is an attribute by which the object-known becomes manifest, as it really is, to the one in whom that attribute subsists. And jurisprudence (fiqh) is: the knowledge of the subtleties of 'ilm together with a kind of [practical] treatment.

Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “Fiqh is the soul's knowledge of what is in its favour and what is against it.” And he said: “Knowledge is not but for action by it; and action by it is the abandoning of the immediate for the deferred.”

So a person should never be heedless of his own soul — what benefits it and what harms it, at its beginning and at its end. Let him draw to himself what benefits it and shun what harms it, lest his intellect and knowledge become a proof AGAINST him and his punishment thereby increase. We seek refuge in Allah from His wrath and His punishment.

Then there is no escape, for the seeker, from intention (niyyah) at the time of acquiring knowledge — for niyyah is the foundation of all actions, in accordance with his (peace be upon him) saying: “Actions are only by intentions.” A sound hadith from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.

How many an action takes the outward form of a worldly action, yet by the goodness of its intention becomes one of the actions of the Hereafter! And how many an action takes the outward form of an action of the Hereafter, yet by the evil of its intention becomes a worldly action!

The seeker should intend, by his pursuit of knowledge, the pleasure of Allah and the abode of the Hereafter, the removal of ignorance from himself and from the rest of the ignorant, the revival of the religion (dīn), and the preservation of Islam — for the survival of Islam is by knowledge, and neither asceticism nor God-consciousness is valid alongside ignorance.

Our shaykh, the most eminent Imām and teacher Burhān al-Dīn, author of al-Hidāyah, recited to us these verses (attributed to another): A great corruption is the dissolute scholar — and greater still is the ignorant ascetic. Both are an immense trial for the worlds, for whoever clings to them in his religion.

Let him intend by [his learning] gratitude for the blessings of intellect and bodily health. Let him NOT intend the world's turning toward him, nor the gathering of the world's debris (ḥuṭām), nor honour at the courts of sultans and the like. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan said: “Even if all people were my slaves, I would [still] disclaim their patronage.”

There was recited to us by Qawām al-Dīn al-Ṣaffār al-Anṣārī, in dictation, lines [originally] of Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy upon him): Whoever sought knowledge for the Returning Day — he triumphed with a portion of right-guidance. But oh, what a loss for those who seek it only to gain favour with people!

However: if one seeks rank in society in order to command the right and forbid the wrong, to enforce truth and to honour the religion — not for his own self or his own desire — then that is permitted, to the extent by which he can carry out the commanding of right and the forbidding of wrong.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Be on your guard against this world! For — by the One in Whose hand Muḥammad's soul rests — it is more bewitching than [the angels] Hārūt and Mārūt.” A poem: She is this world: less than the least — and her lover, lower than the lowliest. She deafens with her sorcery a people, and blinds them, leaving them wandering, without a guide.

The seeker of knowledge ought not to disgrace himself by greed for what is no proper object of greed, and should guard against anything in which lies the humiliation of knowledge or of those who carry it. Let him be humble — and humility lies between arrogance and abjectness; chastity (‘iffah) likewise [lies between two extremes]. This is set out in the Book of Akhlāq.

Truly, humility is among the traits of the God-fearing — by it the godly ascends to the heights. Among wonders is the conceit of one who is ignorant of his own state: is he among the blessed or the wretched? Or how will his life — or his spirit — be sealed? On the day of departure, will it be downward-bound or upward? But Pride is an attribute of our Lord, peculiar to Him alone — so AVOID it, and guard yourself against it.

Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy upon him) said to his companions: “Make your turbans large, and widen your sleeves.” He said this only so that knowledge and its people would not be slighted [in the eyes of others].

The seeker of knowledge should procure the “Book of the Bequest” (Kitāb al-Waṣiyyah) which Abū Ḥanīfa wrote for Yūsuf ibn Khālid al-Samtī upon his return to his people — anyone seeking knowledge can find it.

Our shaykh, the Shaykh al-Islām Burhān al-Dīn ‘Alī ibn Abī Bakr (may Allah hallow his noble soul), commanded me to copy [Abū Ḥanīfa's Waṣiyyah] upon my return to my homeland — so I wrote it out.

And the teacher (mudarris) and the muftī can never do without it [Abū Ḥanīfa's Waṣiyyah] in the matter of people's transactions. And success is from Allah.

The seeker of knowledge should select from each branch its most excellent part, and that which he needs for the affairs of his religion NOW, then that which he will need in the LONG RUN.

He should give priority to the science of divine Unity (tawḥīd) and gnosis (ma‘rifah), and come to know Allah Most High by [rational] proof — for the faith of the mere imitator (muqallid), though it is valid in our [Ḥanafī] view, yet renders him sinful for abandoning [the duty of] reasoned inference.

Let him choose the ancient over the newly-introduced. They have said: “Cling to the ancient, and beware of the innovations.” And beware of occupying yourself with the disputational style (jadal) that has appeared after the passing of the great scholars of old.

[Such empty disputation] distances one from fiqh, wastes the lifetime, bequeaths estrangement and enmity, and is among the signs of the [Final] Hour and of the lifting-up of knowledge and jurisprudence — so it has come in the hadith. As for choosing the teacher: he should choose the most learned and the most scrupulous.

[…the most learned, the most scrupulous,] AND THE ELDEST. As Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy upon him) chose Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān after deliberation and reflection, saying: “I found him a venerable, dignified shaykh — forbearing, patient in matters.” And he said: “I rooted myself at Ḥammād ibn Abī Sulaymān, and I sprouted.”

Abū Ḥanīfa said: “I heard a sage from among the wise men of Samarqand say: ‘A certain student of knowledge consulted me about seeking knowledge — he had already resolved to travel to Bukhārā in pursuit of it.’”

Thus one should consult [others] in every matter. For Allah Most High commanded His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to take counsel in matters — and none was more keenly insightful than he — yet despite this he was commanded to consult, and he used to consult his Companions in all matters, even the household needs.

‘Alī (may Allah honour his face) said: “No man perished as a result of [seeking] consultation.” It has been said: “Mankind is of three kinds: a complete man, a half-man, and a nothing-at-all. The complete man is one who possesses sound judgment AND consults the wise. The half-man is …”

[continuing:] [The half-man is] one who has sound judgment but does not consult, or consults but has no judgment of his own. The ‘nothing-at-all’: one who has no judgment AND does not consult. Ja‘far al-Ṣādiq said to Sufyān al-Thawrī: “Consult, in your affair, those who fear Allah Most High.”

The seeking of knowledge is among the highest of matters, and the most difficult of them — therefore consultation in it is more important and more necessary. The sage (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “If you go to Bukhārā, do not be hasty about attending [the lessons of] the Imāms; remain there for two months until you have reflected and chosen a teacher.”

For if you go to a scholar and begin lessons with him, perhaps his teaching will not please you, so you will leave him and go to another — and there will be no blessing in your study. So deliberate for two months in choosing a teacher, and consult, that you may not later need to leave him and turn away from him; thus you will be firmly settled at him, your learning will be blessed, and you will benefit greatly from your knowledge.

Know that patience and steadfastness are a great foundation in all matters.

But [steadfastness] is rare, as it has been said: For everyone there are stirrings toward the heights — but rare, among men, is steadfastness.

It was said: What is courage? It was said: Courage is the patience of a single hour. So one should remain firm and patient with one teacher, with one book — that he not abandon it half-finished — and with one discipline, that he not move to another before mastering the first, and with one town, that he not relocate to another without necessity.

For all of that scatters one's matters, distracts the heart, wastes the times, and harms the teacher. Let him be patient with what his lower self and its caprice want. The poet said: Truly, hawā (caprice) is hawān (humiliation) itself — and the slain-by-caprice is the slain of disgrace.

Behold! You will not attain knowledge except by six [things] — I shall inform you of their sum with full clarity: Intelligence, eager appetite, perseverant patience, sufficient sustenance, a teacher's guidance, AND a long stretch of time.

As for the choice of fellow-student: he should choose the diligent, the scrupulously pious, the one of upright nature, and the keenly comprehending — and flee from the lazy, the idle, the over-talkative, the corrupting, and the strife-monger.

The poet said: Do not ask about a man — look at his companion! For the companion takes after his companion. If he is a man of evil, then move away from him quickly, and if he is a man of good, accompany him — you will be guided.

Another poem was recited to me: Do not befriend the lazy man in his states — how often a good one is corrupted by another's corruption! The contagion from the slow-witted to the keen is swift, like a glowing coal placed in ash — it dies out.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Every newborn is born upon the natural disposition of Islam (fiṭrah), except that his parents make him a Jew, a Christian, or a Zoroastrian.” [The hadith continues].

It is said in wisdom, in Persian: [Persian verses transcribed in Arabic script — meaning approximately: ‘An evil companion is worse than a serpent — by the holy essence of Allah, the Eternal. An evil one will lead you to Hell; the good one to the bliss [of paradise].’] And it is said: If you seek knowledge and its people, or a witness who reports about an absent thing — Then judge a land by its inhabitants, and judge the companion by [his] companion.

Know that the seeker of knowledge attains knowledge and benefits from it ONLY through revering knowledge and its people — and through revering the teacher and treating him with grave dignity.

It has been said: “No one arrived who arrived except by reverence (ḥurmah), and no one fell who fell except by abandoning reverence.” It has [also] been said: “Reverence is better than mere obedience.” Do you not see that a person does not become an unbeliever by [the act of] disobedience itself — but rather becomes an unbeliever by holding [religion] in contempt and abandoning reverence?

Among the revering of knowledge is the revering of the teacher. ‘Alī (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “I am the slave of whoever has taught me a single letter — if he wishes, he may sell me; if he wishes, he may keep me as a bondsman.”

I have recited about this: I have seen the most rightful of rights — the right of the teacher, and the most binding to preserve upon every Muslim. It is truly fitting that a thousand dirhams be presented to him in honour, for the teaching of a single letter. For whoever teaches you ONE letter of what you need in religion — he is your father in religion.

Among the [practices of] revering the teacher: that one not walk in front of him, nor sit in his place, nor begin speaking in his presence except with his permission, nor talk excessively in his presence, nor ask anything when he is weary (but observe the right time), and not knock at his door — but rather wait patiently until the teacher emerges.

Shaykh al-Islām Burhān al-Dīn, author of al-Hidāyah, used to relate: that one of the great Imāms used to sit in his teaching circle, and would sometimes rise mid-lesson. He was asked about it, and said: “The son of my teacher is playing in the alley; whenever I see him, I rise for him — out of veneration for my teacher.”

The Qāḍī Imām Fakhr al-Dīn al-Arsābandī was the chief of the Imāms in Marw. A trait was found in him: his service to his teacher. He used to draw water for Qāḍī Imām Abū Yazīd al-Dabūsī and cook his food for thirty years — never eating any of it himself.

It is related that the Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd sent his son to al-Aṣmaʿī to teach him knowledge and refined manners. One day he saw [al-Aṣmaʿī] performing wuḍūʼ and washing his foot, while the Caliph's son was POURING WATER over his [own] foot. Hārūn al-Rashīd reproached al-Aṣmaʿī, saying: “I sent him to you only that you would TEACH him and TRAIN him in adab. Why did you not command him to pour the water with one hand AND TO WASH YOUR foot with the other?”

Among the revering of knowledge is revering the book itself: the seeker should never take up a book except in a state of ritual purity. It is related of Shams al-Aʼimmah al-Ḥulwānī that he said: “I attained this knowledge only through veneration: I never took up paper except in a state of purity.”

Shams al-Aʼimmah al-Sarakhsī was struck with stomach trouble one night, and was [also] reviewing his lessons. He performed wuḍūʼ in that night SEVENTEEN TIMES, because he would not review except in a state of purity. This is because knowledge is light, and wuḍūʼ is light, and so the light of knowledge increases by it.

Among the obligatory revering of the scholar is that he not stretch out his foot toward a book; that he place the book of tafsīr (Qur'anic commentary) ABOVE all other books, in veneration; and that he place nothing else on top of a book.

Our shaykh, Burhān al-Dīn (may Allah have mercy upon him), used to relate from one of the masters: that a jurist [once] placed his ink-well on top of a book, whereupon [his teacher] said to him in Persian: “Bar-nayāyī” [i.e., ‘You will not benefit / you will not rise’].

Our master, the qāḍī Imām Fakhr al-Dīn, known as Shaykh al-Islām Burhān al-Islām, author of al-Hidāyah (mercy of Allah upon them), used to relate: that whoever wishes his son to become a scholar should attend to STRANGER jurists [travelling jurists from afar] — should honour them, feed them, and give them something.

And if his son does not become a scholar, then his GRANDSON will be a scholar.

Let him guard especially against arrogance, for with arrogance knowledge is not attained. The Prophet ﷺ said: “Acquire knowledge — and acquire, for the sake of knowledge, sakīnah (tranquillity) and waqār (gravitas).”

Reprehensible character traits are explained in the Book of Akhlāq; this book of ours cannot bear setting them all out. Let one guard especially against arrogance — with arrogance knowledge is not attained. It has been said: Knowledge is at war with the haughty youth — as the floodwater is at war with the high-set place.

Then there is no escape, for the seeker of knowledge, from diligence, perseverance, and constant attendance. To this the Qur'an alludes in His saying, the Most High: “O Yaḥyā [John], take the Book WITH STRENGTH!” (Maryam 19:12), and His saying: “Those who strive [in the path] for Our sake — We will surely guide them to Our ways.” (al-‘Ankabūt 29:69).

By DILIGENCE, not by mere TOIL, [comes] all glory. So can fortune without diligence ever profit? How many a slave stands in the position of the free, and how many a free man stands in the position of the slave! It is said: “Whoever sought a thing AND was diligent, FOUND it. Whoever knocked at the door AND was insistent, ENTERED.”

It has been said: in learning and acquiring deep understanding, the diligence of three is required: the student, the teacher, and the father — if he is among the living.

It has been said: To the measure of toil, the heights are won; and whoever seeks the high stations stays awake at night.

Then the seeker cannot do without HIGH AMBITION in knowledge — for a man flies by his ambition as a bird flies by its two wings.

And al-Mutanabbī said: According to the measure of the men of resolve, resolves come; and according to the measure of the noble, noble deeds come. In the eye of the small one, his small affairs loom large; and in the eye of the great one, even great affairs seem small.

Whoever sought the heights without toil — he has wasted his lifetime pursuing the impossible.

So bind me fast to the attainment of knowledge, and bring me to the farthest of the heights.

It is said: "Take the night as a camel — by it you will reach a cherished hope."

The author says — a verse on this theme came to me: Whoever wishes to encompass his hopes all at once — let him take his night as a camel to catch them by.

Reduce your food, so that you may gain thereby the blessing of wakefulness — if you wish, my companion, to attain perfection.

And it is said: "Whoever keeps himself awake at night has gladdened his heart by day."

The seeker cannot do without persistent study and repetition at the beginning of the night and its end — for the time between the two ʿishāʼ-prayers and the time of the pre-dawn (saḥar) is a blessed time.

It is said on this theme: [the following verses]

O seeker of knowledge — take up piety directly, avoid sleep, and leave off satiation.

And persist in study — do not abandon it — for knowledge stands and rises through study.

So he should seize the days of youth and the prime of young manhood, as it is said:

In proportion to the toil, the high stations are earned — so whoever aims at his desires, let him rise at night.

And the days of youth — seize them! Know well: youth does not last.

But he should not overexert himself with an exertion that weakens the self to the point of breaking off from work. Rather, he should employ gentleness in this — for gentleness is a great foundation in all things.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Know well — this religion is strong, so enter into it with gentleness. Do not make the worship of Allah hateful to yourselves, for the one whose mount has collapsed from overdriving covers no ground and leaves no mount."

And he ﷺ said: "Your soul is your mount — so be gentle with it."

The seeker cannot do without high aspiration in his work — for a person flies by his aspiration just as a bird flies by its two wings.

According to the measure of the person of resolve, resolute acts arrive — and according to the measure of the noble, noble deeds arrive. (Abū al-Ṭayyib al-Mutanabbī)

Small things loom large in the eye of the small-souled, and great things shrink in the eye of the great.

The cornerstone of attaining things is diligence and high aspiration. Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī (may Allah have mercy on him) would occupy himself with knowledge the whole night, keeping water beside him — and when sleep overpowered him he would perform wuḍūʼ and rise.

The great Shaykh Raḍī al-Dīn al-Naysābūrī mentions in his book Makārim al-Akhlāq: that when Dhū al-Qarnayn wished to travel, the wise men said to him:

"How shall I travel, when I already possess this degree of kingdom and blessing?" The wise men said: "Travel, so that you may attain the kingdom of this world and the next." Dhū al-Qarnayn said: "That is best."

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Allah loves the high matters of affairs and dislikes their pettiness."

And it is said: "Do not rush your affair — seek to make it last; for one who bends his stick [by force] is not like one who persists steadily."

It is said: Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy on him) said to Abū Yūsuf (may Allah have mercy on him): "You were slow-witted — yet persistence brought you out to what I now see."

Shaykh Abū Naṣr al-Ṣaffār al-Anṣārī said: [the following verses]

O soul! O soul! Do not slacken from work — in righteousness, justice, and goodness — do not slacken, with time still available.

Every person of action in goodness is content and envied — and every person of laziness is in affliction and ill-omen.

The author says — a verse on this theme came to me: I summoned my soul to sloth and sluggishness — "Come, or else come to me in this humiliation!"

For I have never seen fortune granted to the lazy — save regret and the deprivation of all they hoped for.

And it is said: How many a shame, how many an incapacity, how many a regret — abundant — is born for a person from laziness!

Beware of laziness in searching for an analogous case — and what you knew not, and what almost eluded you: ask!

It has been said: Laziness comes from insufficient reflection on the merits and virtues of knowledge. So one should toil oneself in attainment, diligence, and persistence through reflection on the virtues of knowledge — for knowledge endures through the endurance of what is known, while wealth perishes, as the Commander of the Faithful ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah ennoble his face) said:

We are content with the Almighty's division among us — knowledge is ours, and wealth belongs to the enemies.

For wealth perishes soon enough — and knowledge endures, without ceasing.

Through beneficial knowledge, good remembrance is attained — and that endures after his death, for it is an eternal life.

Ẓahīr al-Dīn, Muftī of the Imams, al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī al-Marghīnānī, recited to us: The ignorant are dead before their death — and the learned, even if they die, are alive.

Burhān al-Dīn (may Allah have mercy on him) recited to me: In ignorance, before death, is a death for its people — so their bodies, before the graves, are graves.

And if a man does not live by knowledge — he is dead; there is no resurrection for him at the Resurrection.

Another said: The brother of knowledge is alive, eternal after his death — though his joints beneath the soil are crumbled to dust.

And he-of-ignorance is dead, though he walks upon the earth — appearing among the living while he is nothing.

Another said: The life of the heart is knowledge — so seize it! The death of the heart is ignorance — so avoid it!

Our teacher Burhān al-Dīn (mercy of Allah upon him) recited to me [this poem]: Knowledge is the highest rank among ranks — and beneath it, the glory of high stations is [merely] in processions.

It [knowledge] is THE light — all light — guiding away from blindness; while the ignorant walks his lifetime among the deepest darknesses.

It is the towering peak that protects whoever flees to it — so that he walks in safety amid calamities.

By it a person attains perfection and a lofty rank that rises above every rider.

How many a scholar has died — yet his remembrance travels on through the passage of time and is written.

So do not abandon noble knowledge as a falling-short — be a seeker in it with a watchful heart.

Fiqh is the most precious of every thing you store away — whoever studies knowledge, his glories will not be effaced.

So earn for yourself what you have come to be ignorant of — for the first [stage] of knowledge is turning toward it, and the last [stage] is also [turning toward it].

Sufficient is the pleasure of knowledge, fiqh, and understanding as a summoner and motivator for the rational person to acquire knowledge.

Laziness can also arise from excess phlegm and bodily moisture; the way to reduce it is to reduce food.

It is said: Seventy physicians agreed that forgetfulness comes from excess phlegm; excess phlegm from drinking much water; drinking much water from excess eating. And dry bread cuts phlegm.

The tooth-stick (siwāk) reduces phlegm and increases memorisation ability and eloquence — as do sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ, drinking honey, and [using] sanā and frankincense.

From the Prophet (peace be upon him): “Three [types] God hates without [their committing] crime: the over-eater, the miser, and the arrogant.” Reflect on the harms of much eating: illnesses and the dulling of natural vigour. It is said: “Fullness [of the belly] removes acuity (fiṭnah).”

Our teacher Burhān al-Dīn (may Allah have mercy upon him) used to fix the beginning of any lesson on a Wednesday, and would relate a hadith in support of this, saying: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Nothing is begun on a Wednesday except that it is brought to completion.”

As for the AMOUNT of a lesson: our teachers said: “The amount of a lesson for a beginner should be the amount that can be MASTERED by reviewing it twice, gently — and let him add ONE WORD per day.” It has been said: “The lesson is one letter; the review is a thousand.”

He should begin with something CLOSER to his understanding. Shaykh Sharaf al-Dīn al-ʿUqaylī used to say: “The correct view, in my opinion, is what our masters did — they used to choose for the beginner the SMALL PIECES of al-Mabsūṭ.”

He should annotate the lesson AFTER mastery and after much review — annotation is highly useful. But he should not get into the habit of annotating BEFORE mastery, for that leads to wasted time.

The seeker of knowledge should be REFLECTIVE at all times upon the subtleties of the sciences, and accustom himself to this — for the subtleties are only grasped through reflection. Hence it has been said: “Reflect — and you will grasp.”

There is no escape from REFLECTION BEFORE SPEAKING — that the speech may be correct. For speech is like an arrow: there is no escape from straightening it before [shooting] it, that it may HIT THE MARK. It is said: “The head of the intellect is that speech be uttered with deliberation and reflection.”

Let him be one who BENEFITS, at all times and in all states, from all persons. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Wisdom is the lost-property of the believer — wherever he finds it, he takes it.” And it is said: “Take what is clear, and leave what is murky.”

It was said to Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah have mercy upon him): “By WHAT did you attain knowledge?” He said: “By a tongue much-asking, and a heart much-grasping.” And the seeker of knowledge was [in olden days] called by the name “What-do-you-say?” because of how often they used to say in the early times: “What do you say about this question?”

Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy upon him) attained deep understanding only through MUCH discussion and review IN HIS SHOP, while he was a cloth-merchant. By this it is known that the attainment of knowledge and fiqh is COMPATIBLE with earning a livelihood.

Whoever has much wealth — and what an excellent thing is righteous wealth, in the hand of the righteous man who spends it in the path of knowledge!

It was said to a scholar: “By what did you attain knowledge?” He said: “By a wealthy father.” Because the people of knowledge and merit benefited from him — and that is itself a cause for the increase of knowledge: it is gratitude for the blessing of intellect and learning, and gratitude is the cause of increase.

It is said: Abū Ḥanīfa (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: “I attained knowledge only through praise and gratitude — every time I understood, or was granted insight into a point of fiqh or wisdom, I said: ‘Al-ḥamdu li-llāh!’ — and so my knowledge increased.”