How Do I Seek Knowledge?
Answered by Imam Yama Niazi
Question
How do I seek knowledge?
Answer
Dear questioner,
May Allah bless you and increase you in good.
Seek Knowledge
The best place to start is to seek knowledge for the sake of Allah.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Whoever travels a path seeking knowledge, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise.” [Muslim]
The best place I recommend that is free and online with many different teachers to choose from is SeekersGuidance. The best cure for ignorance is to seek knowledge. You will never be truly safe from misguidance until you have a strong understanding of Islam. The history and development of the traditional schools of law, our classical theology and creed, the method and reason why Islam and the traditional understanding is not only sound and accurate but even binding to follow.
In his famous poem on theology, Ibrahim al Laqqani says, “Malik and the other (illustrious) Imams. Likewise, Abu Qasim (Junaid al-Baghdadi) the guides of the Prophetic community. It is incumbent to follow the qualified scholars amongst them.” [Jawharat al-Tawhid, Laqqani]
Start with this course:
How Islam Works
It will give you a great understanding and provide absolute clarity.
Sufism
Sufism is the science that deals primarily with the heart and its purification, which is emphasized in the Quran, “Successful is he who purifies it. Failing is he who corrupts it.” [Qur’an 91:9-10]
“The Day when neither wealth nor children will help. Except for him who comes to God with a sound heart.” [Qur’an 26:89-90] Sufism (Tasawwuf) leads us down that road to attaining a sound heart free of corruption and diseases.
Misconceptions about Sufism
I have often experienced misconceptions about Sufism. A quote I would often hear from my teacher about the real Sufis is the following: “Sufism (Tasawwuf) is not wearing clothes that you patched; it is not weeping when the singers sing their songs, and it is not dancing, shouting, experiencing ecstatic states, or passing out as if you have gone mad. Rather, Sufism is to become whole without any impurities; to follow the truth, the Qur’an, and this religion; and to be seen in a state of awe, broken and remorseful about all of your sins.” [attributed to Qadi Abu Bakr al-Maliki]
A class at SeekersGuidance that really will help you in your path of spirituality is the following:
Haddad’s Book of Assistance
[Imam] Yama Niazi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Imam Yama Niazi has studied with local scholars in the USA for a number of years which culminated in him becoming an imam of the Islamic Society of Santa Barbara for 8 years. He served the community by teaching and leading prayers. In 2015 he founded “ the blessed tree “ a nonprofit specifically for bridging gaps between the Muslim community and others. He has spoken on many Muslim platforms throughout the USA and Canada and conducted programs in local communities in North America. He is an instructor at SeekersGuidance.
