Intention while studying

Our teacher, Imam Qiwamuddin Hammad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Isma’il As Saffar Al Ansari (may Allah have mercy on him) [1], quoted the following verses of Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) to us:

Whoever seeks knowledge to earn the hereafter, succeeded with the guidance and grace of Allah. Very unfortunate is that student who seeks knowledge for the sake of the honour of the people. [2]

However, if a student seeks honour for the sake of assisting him in enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, or for implementing the truth and upholding Din, not for personal motives and carnal desires, it is permissible to the extent that this assists him in these endeavours.

A student should ponder over why he is seeking knowledge with so much effort and exertion. Why should he then expend it on this despised world that is temporary and paltry.

This world is very little in comparison to the hereafter.

The one who has love and affection for it is the most despised of men. Its magical charm makes nations deaf and blind. They become perplexed without finding any path.

It is essential for the bearer of knowledge to be cautious of those things which cause disgrace to knowledge and its bearers.

A student should be humble. Humility is between arrogance and disgrace. Chastity is the same. More details can be found in the book ‘Al Akhlaq’.

Sheikh Ruknud din (may Allah have mercy on him) [3], better known as Al Adibul Mukhtar, recited the following verses to me:

• Humility is the trait of a pious person,
• By means of it, a person can reach great heights.

Very strange is one who is arrogant but he does not know whether he is fortunate or unfortunate.

During the pangs of death, how will his soul be removed? Will it be removed easily or with great difficulty?

Grandeur is an attribute of Allah. Therefore be cautious in adopting this quality.

Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) said to his companions, “Respect your turbans and be frugal in spending”. [4]

He said this so that knowledge and its bearers are not despised. A student should carefully read “Kitabul Wasiyah” which Imam Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote for Yusuf Ibn Khalid As Samti (may Allah have mercy on him) [5] when he returned home. In it the student will find the necessary subject matter which he requires.

My teacher, Burhanud din ‘Ali Ibn Abi Bakr (may Allah have mercy on him) ordered me to write out this book. I complied with his request on my return journey home. Teacher and mufti should study it when dealing with the general public.

[1] He was from Bukhara from a family of knowledge and abstinence. He was a jurist and an expert in linguistics. He passed away in Samarkand in 576 AH (1180 CE).

[2] or that people must accept his status or give him gifts.

[3] His name was Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr Ibn Yusuf Al Farghani. He was a jurist and expert linguist. He passed away in Margilan in 594 A.H. (1196 C.E.).

[4] That is, a student should nurture his personality so much that respect and honour flow from it. The aim of this is merely to honour knowledge and raise its status.

[5] He was one of the students of Imam Abu Hanifah. Imam Shafi’i said that he was a distinguished personality. He learnt a great deal from Imam Abu Hanifah and narrated a hadith from him. People looked up to him. Then he turned his attention towards worshipping Allah. He passed away in 189 AH (805 CE).

FROM THE BOOK “TEACHING THE STUDENT THE METHOD OF STUDYING” SHEIKH BURHANUL ISLAM AZ-ZARNUJI