Seek Knowledge And Earn The World

Below is an extract from Shaykh’s talk on 29/01/24.

Be a taalibul ilm not a kaasibe ilm. A taalib refers to a person who has a deep hearted desire. He is a true seeker whose thirst for knowledge is never quenched and he continues on his quest until he meets his end. A kaasib is one who earns.

We often think of a taalibul ilm as a student. But the reality is, we must all become seekers of Deen. Nabi ﷺ said, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim” (Ibn Majah). It is necessary to learn the laws of Allah pertaining to our field of work. For example business owners should study the chapters of buying and selling. It’s easy to become an employer but we must question ourselves; am I doing this in a manner pleasing to Allah? Am I fulfilling my employees rights? When I give my word, do I keep to it? Umar (RA) would question anyone who intended to do business in the marketplace of Madinah Munawwarah as to whether they knew the laws of Allah first or not. He would instruct them to study first and then open their business. Thus, Deen should be studied and then we live, work and behave accordingly.

A true student in Madrassa should be immersed in studies alone. Nowadays students seek a break more than they seek ilm. Where is the talab, the desire? Students should make dua for the blessing of talab as it is talab which keeps a student focused in class. A taalib can barely stay away, even during sickness. There was a student in Darul Uloom Azaadville who was an advanced cancer patient. He would go for chemotherapy regularly which would normally tire a patient. But he was so committed to his studies, he would come to class in that condition. He would tell his classmates to put him on a mattress and carry him to class. He would be positioned at the back of the class and they would face his head towards the teacher. Like that he continued his studies and soon after, he passed away.

While studying he had obtained many books. After his demise, those books were then sold at an auction in the Darul Uloom. Maulana Suleman Khatani (DB) and others then bought those books. At the time they were just students but they are now senior scholars serving Deen, having studied and learnt a portion of Deen from his books. This was all he left behind. We leave behind money and estates for someone else to own, he left behind books for someone else to read. We depart with our money upon our demise, his books continued to benefit him upon his demise. It remains a sadaqah jaariyah for him in his grave, that is the reward of his talab, efforts and sacrifice. May Allah accept from him, he was a true taalibe ilm.

Sadly, many nowadays have talab for their earnings and kasab applies to their Deen. A kaasib earns. He works just enough to make ends meet. Whereas a taalib is consistently working hard until his last breath. We have become kaasibe ilm, we study just enough, many don’t even study that much. And yet for the world, we have become taalibud dunya, we continue striving to earn money well above our needs and this consumes most of our time and efforts. Those seeking a halal income are often seeking with more talab than students of ilm. Some students wake up with a little headache and they decide to take a day off Madrassa and rest. Yet their father wakes up with a severe fever but they take medicine and go out to earn, it’s business as usual. Thus the father has true talab, this was meant to be the case of the student.

For kasbe dunya, we shouldn’t tolerate disgrace, yet many do. They say that the customer is always right in order to keep filling their pockets. For talabe ilm, to be tolerant is rewarding and will elevate a student. If a student is reprimanded in class he should be tolerant. If he’s rich at home but in Darul Uloom he sleeps on the floor and his living style is markedly different, he should be tolerant. He may have his own room at home but in Darul Uloom, he shares a room with other students. One roommate snores like he’s cutting the whole forest down, another talks so loudly like thunder. He should be tolerant for the sake of seeking ilm. Yet for Deen, many are intolerant and don’t wish to sacrifice.

When Nabi ﷺ passed away, Abdullah ibn Abbas (RA) sought out the companions of Nabi ﷺ to learn from them. Sometimes he would hear that a man had heard a saying of Nabi ﷺ, so he would go to his house to enquire and find him resting. He would then take a pillow and rest at his door on the sand, in the hot desert, under the sun. Eventually when the person would come out he would ask him that why didn’t you knock? He would reply that I didn’t want to disturb you. This was his level of talab and sacrifice to seek deeni knowledge (Narrated in Ad-Darimi (590) and Al-Mustadrak (363)).

Imam Bukhari (RA) travelled far and wide and endured great hardship to seek just one hadith. These ulama of the past had little money and barely any food, some would eat leaves to survive. But they had great talab and so Allah blessed them with great ilm and He took great work of deen from them.

The lesson is that we must have talab for ilm, not dunya. If we do not, seek guidance from a scholar and develop the talab. This talab will enable us to seek ilm, which will translate into amal, which will eventually lead to the service of Deen. But ultimately, guidance comes from Allah alone. We ask Him for His guidance and for a true talab that leads to Him, aameen.

Shaykh Dawood Seedat حفظه اللّٰه

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