In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.
All praise is due to Allaah and may Allaah bless all of us with the ability to act sincerely even if what we know is very little, for indeed the purpose behind knowledge is to act. Indeed, may Allaah bless all the brothers – those who have travelled to benefit from Shaikh Khaalid Dhufairi [hafidhahullaah] and those who are still benefiting from the study circles of the teachers in the various UK Maraakiz, America, Canada etc
There are brothers at Al-Markazus Salafi who travel to study circles elsewhere solely based on their own personal preference [Ref A], but the majority stay in their city. There are brothers whose busy schedule in the Salafi institutions – Bookstores, Secondary and Primary Schools as well as family commitments – prevents them from attending study circles every single day, even in a place like Birmingham where there are Duroos throughout the week. [Ref B]
And there are brothers who are able to travel to more than one city – on different days – to benefit. So, we ask Allaah to bless all of us with sincerity and righteous deeds, grant us Barakah in our time schedules so that we can attend more duroos – in the gatherings of Ahlus Sunnah.
And if Allaah blesses any of us with the finances and right circumstances, then indeed we should not hesitate to travel to Shaikh Khaalid Adh-Dhufairi [hafidhahullaah] and encourage others to join us. Shaikh Rabee Bin Haadi [hafidhahullaah] said: Allaah [The Most High] said: [فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ – Of every troop of them, a party only should go forth, that they (who are left behind) may get instructions in (Islamic) religion, and that they may warn their people when they return to them, so that they may beware (of evil)]. [Surah at-Tawbah’ Aayah 122]
This Aayah has been explained in two ways, the first meaning is that not all the people should go forth [i.e. travel] to seek knowledge, otherwise everyone will abandon the beneficial [necessities] of the worldly life. Therefore, a group is to preoccupy themselves with the beneficial [necessities] of the worldly life and another group goes forth [i.e. travel] to seek knowledge, then they return to their people to teach them what they have learnt from the religion of Allaah- knowledge of the divine revelation which Muhammad [sallal laahu alayhi wasallam] was sent with.
It has been transmitted in a hadeeth reported by Maalik Ibn Huwayrith that a group amongst his people went to the Prophet [sallal laahu alayhi wasallam] and stayed with him for twenty days and nights…hadeeth as follows: Narrated Maalik [radiyallaahu-anhu]: we came to the Prophet [sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam] and stayed with him for twenty days and nights. We were all young and of about the same age.
The Prophet [sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam] was very kind and merciful. When he realised our longing for our families, he asked about our homes and the people there, and we told him. Then he asked us to go back to our families and stay with them and teach them [the religion and to order them to do good things…. [Saheeh al-Bukhaari’ Number 631] [Ref 1] [End of quote]
At present, brothers from different places are with Shaikh Khaalid Adh-Dhufairi [hafidhahullaah], and indeed a brother from Manchester in particular informed us of the excellent manners and humility of the Shaikh alongside his beneficial gatherings. So may Allaah return these brothers to Kuwait many more times and grant us all the Tawfeeq to join them Aameen. Finally, we ask Allaah to grant us Tawfeeq to continue benefiting from the study circles of the students in the various UK Maraakiz, just as Shaikh Rabee [hafidhahullaah] said, “The entire life of a person is to be spent in seeking knowledge – from the cradle to the grave. He does not feel proud to acquire truth from a young or older person, and he never rejects truth – whether it is stated by a Muslim or Unbeliever. His soul seeks after the truth, so if he finds a text from the Book of Allaah and the [authentic] Sunnah of the Messenger [sallal-laahu-alayhi-wasallam], then all praises and thanks be to Allaah; but if he does not have it and finds it with someone else, he accepts it”. [Ref 2] [End of quote]
Ref A: Elaboration:
Shaikh Uthaymeen [rahimahullaah] stated above that one should firmly cling to the book he is reading or revising, and should firmly cling to the Shuyookh he learns from in person. Do not be a Dhawwaaq [i.e. one who quickly acquires a taste of this or that and moves on to another thing without accomplishing anything properly]- alternating to a new Shaikh every week and every month; rather determine -first and foremost- who to take knowledge from in person, then firmly cling to him after you have decided. However, you can have different Shaikhs from whom you acquire different subject matters, for example you have a Shaikh who teaches you Fiqh and you carry on being consistent in your studies; another Shaikh who teaches you Arabic Grammar and you carry on being consistent in your studies; a Shaikh in Aqeedah and you carry on being consistent in studying Aqeedah and Tawheed. The most important thing is consistency and that you refrain from quickly acquiring a taste of this or that topic without accomplishing anything properly- like that man who is a serial divorcee, for whenever he gets married and stays with the wife for seven days, he divorces her and then moves on to another woman. So, he remains for a prolonged period in his life whilst neither enjoying [a fruitful, close, intimate relationship etc] with a wife nor having children in most cases. [Paraphrased. Sharh Hilyati Taalibil Ilm’ page 75]
Elaboration On Ref B
Umar Ibnul Khattaab [radiyallaahu-anhu] said: “Acquire knowledge early before you become [leaders, old in age etc]”.
This does not mean that an old person abandons learning, rather what is intended is that one should learn when he is young before old age, because old age can be an obstacle to learning due to one being shy of sitting in the gatherings of knowledge. [Abu Abdillaah] said: “The Companions of the Prophet [radiyallaahu-anhum] studied despite the fact that they were old in age”. [Saheeh Al-Bukhaari. Chapter 15: (Wish to be like the one who has knowledge and Wisdom] and more details in Fat-hul Baari]
Therefore, we should all strive to sit with the youth in the study circles and may Allaah grant us more time Aameen.
Allaahul Musta’aan! We used to have a lot of time and attended at least 3 Duroos a week, but at present commitments in the Salafi primary and secondly schools occupy most of our time and we can only attend one Dars a week – Ustaadh Abu Khadeejah’s Dars on Thursdays. Anyone who is a teacher knows the time needed for planning lessons, marking, assessing, preparing resources etc.. One might ask, “How do you find time to spend on this website but not attend more Duroos?” The answer is: All articles are prepared during weekends and scheduled for posting during the week. As for during the week all our time is focused on teaching, assessing, marking and planning – from 12pm to 7pm. And obviously one has to give time to wife and children during weekends. This is the case with many teachers in primary and secondary schools, and Salafi tuition centres. We ask Allaah to grant us more time Aameen.
[Ref 1: An Excerpt from ‘Marhaban Yaa Taalibal Ilm’ pages 128-129. slightly paraphrased]
[Ref 2:An Excerpt from Marhaban Yaa Taalibal Ilm. Pages 245-247. Slightly paraphrased]
