The Pursuit of Knowledge Lecture Series: Part 4 By Shaykh Abdul Nasir Jangda
Dec 13, 2011
Abdul Nasir Jangda – Pursuit Of Knowledge 04
AI: Summary ©
The importance of finding professionalism and respect for the culture of the past is emphasized in the context of the dress code and the historical context of the time before Islam. The importance of physical presence and respect for people in public settings is also emphasized. The importance of learning to be calm and not hesitate to use the word "monster" when discussing one's teacher and learning from teachers is emphasized. The importance of studying and learning while at work is emphasized, as it is crucial for future success. The speaker emphasizes the need for discipline and healthy eating habits, as it is crucial for achieving professional success in learning.
AI: Summary ©
You're listening to polam Institute podcast, visit us on the web at Palm institute.org. And join us on [email protected] slash Gollum Institute smilla Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah wa and he was he admiring Santa Monica, Morocco warahmatullahi wabarakatuh
shala, continuing with our sessions on AWS and the etiquette of seeking knowledge, the next thing I wanted to address and talk about very briefly before we move on to the bulk of what we'll be discussing today.
And this might again seem unnecessary. This might seem assumed like obvious, it might seem very, very obvious.
And especially for those of you who are a little bit older, those of you who have worked professionally, but nevertheless, it is important to still mention simply because of the unfortunate culture that revolves around religious activity, religious knowledge, religious places of worship, and that is dress and appearance. That part of the etiquette of for the student of knowledge is the appearance, how a student of knowledge presents him or herself. It's extremely important. And there's a lot of professionalism that's required in terms of that. And this is something that goes all the way back to, you know, I can give you even less power to Allah in the Quran. When he Basu
takua Delica faith, Allah subhanho wa Taala actually makes mention of how people dress and who luzina Takuma in the cul de Masjid. Right that take your beauty near them massage near near each and every single place of worship. And that has many, many different meanings. But one of the meanings of that is also to make sure that you are very presentable. It's from the Sunnah of the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa Salaam that whenever he approached worship, whenever you approach a Baba and religious activity, like we have working clothes, you have clothes that you specifically only wear to work, the profits, a lot of busted clothes. And when you would actually come there's a there's a
whole chapter in the sun, another Buddhahood in the sun in the sun, and every bit of abida would bubble et Mammon Levy, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam will be Salah, the chapter about the care and consideration and the preparation that the process that I would have for the prayer. And part of that what some of those ahaadeeth actually mentioned that when you would come home, just like when you get back from work, when you get back from the office, you take off your clothes, and you put on your home clothes, because you're going to be sitting around and eating and sleeping and things like that, and you don't want to mess up your clothes. So the profits a lot of a sudden when you would
come from the machine, you would take off and hang up his clothes and he would have home clothes. And when the van would be called or the time of the van would come. He would prepare for the slot put on his magic clothes and then go to the prayer. Even though that the distance between the house of the profits allowed him in the masjid was this.
The other side was his house decide was a mustard It was a door.
But there were that was still the care and consideration that he offered. So seeking of knowledge and also an act of very bad and you should be given that same due respect. First of all, the prophet alayhi salatu salam saw a man who had the means to be dressing a little bit more,
if you will, respectfully like to be dressed a little bit more appropriately, but the man was wearing tattered dirty clothes, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam reprimanded him and told him in a lie you hibou a year I thought on the matter here Allah,
Allah subhanaw taala loves to see the sign to see the semblance of his blessings upon his slave, meaning dress appropriately, in alborada. Terminal Eman simplicity is from him on simplicity. So no extravagance Absolutely not. But nevertheless to be appropriate to be cleaned, to be presentable, to be professional. So that is straight from the context of Quran and Hadith sooner. But I wanted to present to you also what the scholars of the past would say about this issue. And this, this topic of when you throw him a hula, he used to tell his students of the moon
of the moon, I'm not even joking. It was part of the culture and the tradition also is from the son of the prophets, a lot of them as well. But it was a predominant dress of that time that they would wear imama they would wear turbans, that's the closest translation we have in English, they would rather they would tie the cloth on their head like turban what we know as a turban today, so they would wear that. But there was a little bit of a distinction in terms of how you wear your turban that the lower lower class people are more uneducated people more unsophisticated people in society would typically wear like a smaller turban would just have like a little piece of cloth wrapped
around their head and people have educated
And nobility and dignity and honor and leadership would typically wear bigger turbans. Abu hanifa Rahim Allah used to tell students to wear big turbans
are the more I'm not you, Michael? Well, what's the economical?
I'll come refers to sleeve. So again, in the culture of that time in the traditional cultural dress of that time, big sleeves, was something that was, was part of usually the dress code again, of leadership, more educated, more sophisticated type people, no normal, dignified people in society, they would, they would often when they got their clothes tailored, they would have big sleeves made. And so behind him, Allah told his students as students of knowledge, as to lab and even allameh of the future scholars of the future, he would tell them what to economical, make sure your sleeves are very broad and very wide like big sleeves, big turbans, big sleeves, and he explains why not to be
vain, not to be superficial, not not to conform, for the sake of confirming, conforming but rather he said, Well, you know, my father Danica, the Allah is Allah Allah.
He rather said this and he gave this instruction so that the people the knowledge itself, and the people of knowledge, would not be demeaned would not be degraded, would not be looked down upon. So people of knowledge were told to conduct by their teachers. Mr. Malik Rahim, Allah at his time, the you know, typically how do we wear a turban how men wear a turban, you've probably seen that it has like a tail, it has like a piece of cloth that hangs out the back. So that tail of the turban again, people have leadership and people of education, nobility and dignity would have longer tails to determine, say my mother, grandma likes to tell students make sure the tail of your turban as long
have a very be very presentable, be very dignified in your presence.
Other are the more Mr. McComb was co economical.
And so he used to tell them that be very dignified in the way you present yourself. Because that directly will reflect in and the people of you are representative. Now, you officially represent that. And so I know that in the dress code, they've talked to you about it being a professional building in a corporate setting. And so they expect you to dress professionally. But that definitely needs to be taken into consideration. But I'm talking about even a more broader level I'm talking about even when you go to the masjid then
even when you go to the masjid, I don't want to see anybody showing up even to the masjid, in like torn sweats and a torn up jersey, because you're representative at that point. So you need to be extremely presentable. Because you represent something, you represent this item, you represent this knowledge and you represent where you're getting their end from as well. So it's very, very important. So that was real quickly, I wanted to talk about that very briefly about being presentable and how it's an overall embodiment of your admin, who you are and what you're representing.
The next thing I wanted to dedicate the majority of the time today
talking about
and that was the relationship with the teacher.
Um, first of all start off at the very, at the very top, if you will, like I'll start off very like basic
aim is something sacred. And I think you all understand that.
The knowledge of the Quran the knowledge of the life of the messenger Salaam, simply something absolutely sacred, and I think you understand that. But understand that we also have a principle within our Deen that anything that is a means anything that is a will sila, anything that is a means to achieving something to accomplishing something good. Also, by virtue of that becomes something that is also sacred, something that is also respected, will do will do is not just a means to the prayer will do is an act of about itself by virtue of being a means to the prayer.
That's very important that we understand that. So everything that is a channel that is a means of you reaching this element, this knowledge that you come here for, it automatically deserves the same amount of respect and consideration that the knowledge itself deserves from you.
So talking at a very broad level, and then I'll get to the root the most important part of it. The pen that you write with deserves your respect.
Students of knowledge will not throw their pens. They wouldn't they thought it to be a tool and Allah tala a tool of seeking knowledge,
notebooks and pens, and they could have that they would have even so much so that from the other end we've even been taught how to stack our books on top of each other.
The books of the sciences such as fear canoe school and things like that, they are the first books that are put on the board books of even basic tools. I got like
I'll be in southern Ohio, there on the bottom, then the books of the sciences like Filipinos who then come to books of the sinner books of Hadith. And then the Quran is put on the very top, we were even taught this type of other.
And if this is very extreme levels of other Dhamma tell you about, and even though that might not be expected of us, but I would just want you to understand the aura, the over respect that revolves around the element other than everything that's associated with the area. And there are classical scholars, if you ever see a classical text, a classical manual, it used to be handwritten
wouldn't when our teachers would teach us classical texts, even though there's like computerized prints of everything, they were very, it was still part of their tradition, they would make a study from the handwritten manuscripts that are photocopied. And so when you look in those handwritten manuscripts, and I'll maybe I'll even bring one in so that you can take a look at it, they would have how ashy, they would have footnotes, what we consider footnotes, except they're all around the border notes. And what basically happens is just like a footnote works, the scholar who came along later on, you would put a one over here, and then on the side, or on the top, he would write one,
and then he would write his little explanation of this word, a little extra note of information. So classical text, oftentimes, the text is only covered by like this much in the middle, and everything around it, are all these notes, and inscriptions and all these added notes by scholars throughout the generations and centuries. So one scholar, when you would, he had the he was doing notations, like adding the shear notes on the side margins of the most half doctrine. So what he would do is he had to put on here in front of him, and when he would be adding side notes, and when he would have to write on the top part of the page. So what would we typically do? Because you can't write like
that. So what would we do? You turn it right, and then you can write like this, what he would do is he would get up from his place, he would come sit around on the other side, and then write, and then we have to write on this side and get up again, come to this side, and he would write. So somebody asked me is what's going on, you know, it moves, it turns, right. And so he said that this is the book of Allah, this is a forum.
It's a lot more appropriate for me to move from my place than to move the book of Allah subhanaw taala again, and again.
And again, I'm not saying that that's what we should do. I think it'll probably create a lot of havoc here in the classroom if you start doing that. All right. So But nevertheless, I just want you to get that understanding. I want you to understand that. Mr. Malik Rahim, Allah one time I heard, he's teaching these to the students. And sort of flipped the page, like we flip a page, like, you know, I don't have any paper here. That's a bad thing by using an iPad. So but so he just flipped the page, roughly, like where it makes noise.
And immediately stop the deaths. Start the lesson. And he said, No, that's not how we treat it. That's how you flip a newspaper.
That's how you flip a page of paper on the page of the hobby. And even talk them carefully, with respect with dignity.
So everything around the enemy deserves our respect. Mr. Mulligan, this goes back to the first point, my mother grandma would shower would bathe would put on clean clothes would apply perfume and ATAR and then come and teach the words of the prophets Elisa.
And when somebody has that level of other that level of respect, how does Allah bless that person? I'm teaching you Hadeeth here sitting in Dallas, Texas, in a classroom. All right. Hamdulillah, but I'll be teaching you Hadith here. Imam Malik had that level of other than respect. And he used to teach Hadith to people sitting next to the grave the resting place of the Prophet salallahu alaihe salam, he said sit right next to the grave of the Prophet salami, so and when you would go through the Senate of the Hadith and fula and unfold and had the Santa Fulani had death and Sudan and Sudan and Sudan. And he would finally get to the profits along the time and he would say, like we were
going to say Allah tala Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Messenger of Allah Peace and blessings upon him said, instead of that he would literally point to the grave of the prophets a lot, he said and gesture towards the grave. And he would say, Father, Sahaba hadn't cover
the dignified person who lays in this grave. He has said, he was granted that honor in that distinction by Allah
to sit next to the grave of the prophets alongside him and narrate a hadith from the prophets of Allah.
So, Adam, you know, there's our old Farsi proverb, you probably especially the desease, amongst you probably grew up listening to this from your parents, but it's very profound, but abundancy by
somebody who has etiquette and respect, that person will be blessed with a lot. And somebody who lacks etiquette and respect will not be blessed with anything. And that needs to be remembered. That's very, very important. So respecting all of those things that serve as a channel and as a means of bringing your knowledge
So in terms of you, the books, like I don't want to see books lying around, I don't want to see like notes like just scattered on the ground thrown on the ground.
Some other types of dignity and respect. So all the books and everything that becomes a means of you taking your knowledge respect that.
All right, this classroom, this facility deserves your respect, aside from just respecting the organization, and respecting your classmates and the administration here in terms of your lead, even spiritually speaking, you should be you should be inclined to respect even where you seek.
Because it is a means of bringing you this, this blessing knowledge, so respective in the facility.
Risk and then most importantly, respect the people that you take your in from.
Now, this part of it, honestly, very honestly, because I haven't held back anything from you is part of talking about this part of it feels very awkward, because I will be one of the people that will be teaching you but I guess what makes it a little bit easier to talk about is I won't be teaching you for quite some time. So I can try to objectify the discussion as much as possible.
But respecting the people that you take your alien from, is extremely important. extremely important. There are
the Prophet alayhi salatu was Salam in a hadith narrated by mama Timothy Rahim Allah He says, Lisa Mina, that person is not from us. He does not belong amongst us. Madam you are clear Kabira Anna, who does not respect our elders, we are him Selena and does not have mercy on our youngsters.
Way out if the IE Menaka who
we are Fei Li Mina Haku. And he does not recognize he does not identify he does not acknowledge the rights of our scholars.
So somebody who doesn't respect our elders have kindness on our incident doesn't recognize and realize the rights of our scholars. That person isn't from amongst us, meaning his character, his behavior, automatically he himself is excluding himself from the oma muslimah because that behavior is unbecoming of Muslims. So it's very important. There's another narration another Hadith and I was a bit hesitant because this narration has some weakness in regards to it. But nevertheless, what we learn from the sulev Hadith is that for the purposes of virtue, for the purposes of virtue, like virtues of deeds, and to motivate us to do good deeds, the classical scholars, the majority of them
have ruled that it is permissible to mention weaker narrations for that purpose. I want you to listen and pay attention. The Prophet of Allah Salallahu alaihe salam is narrated to have said to Allah Allah I seek knowledge, learning knowledge, what to Allah moolah, who is Sakina, voila. And in order to seek knowledge, you must learn sakeena
peace and tranquility, to learn to be calm, to be reserved, what are what are and you must learn to be dignified. So learn knowledge but to learn knowledge, what you have to learn before you learn knowledge is number one, composure. You have to be able to compose yourself, you have to have some type of self restraint, self control. And number two, you have to learn to be dignified and respect, respectful, very important. The Prophet alayhi salatu salam says, and then he says, what are the only men that are alone I mean, who, and learn to humble yourself from the people that you learn from?
work on humbling yourself before the people that you take your knowledge and you're in from.
So it's very, very important. I'll give you a few more quotations and I'll put into some more practical terms what I what I'm exactly referring to here.
Sure, but to be a judge Rahim Allah, great scholar of our histories as Mesoamerican I hadn't had eaten in the controller who abdun
Never did I hear a single Hadith from someone never meaning Never did I learn a single Hadith from anyone, except that I became a slave for that person. Meaning I was devoted dedicated to that person, I had the utmost respect for that person.
If not ambassador, the loved one whom he says more only more natural hate to stop for Allahu Allah hedin filbur says the people that teach the teachers, people who teach humanity who teach mankind good, even the fishes in the sea, even the fishes in the ocean, they make so far and they ask forgiveness for that person, that teacher of knowledge, how to proceed. How to Know Rashid, who was very instrumental in establishing a lot of infrastructure within, you know, the Muslim society at that time he established schools. him and his wife were very famous for establish
Schools and places and centers of learning. When he was at the inaugural ceremony for many of the schools that he had established and he had open, he said
ugly Sufi, new fusi, Abner bommali me him, we're after army him. He said deeply ground deeply plant into the hearts of your children, love and respect for their teachers. What odd him Come my father, son of Anna, can my father Salah una salia or Hama, whom Allahu taala. And he said, so deeply ground deeply plant within the hearts of your children, respect,
respect,
love, and admiration for their teachers, just like our predecessors used to do that this was a practice of our previous generations. They respected they loved and they admired their teachers. And that's why they got so much from what they learned from their teachers. So now to get to the basic to the practical implementation of this, I'm going to put it very clearly, again, typically Alhamdulillah. Within this type of environment of learning people are usually are respectful people to put it shortly. We have older, more mature, more sophisticated people here. Respect is automatically expected from such folks. At the same time many of you like I asked you yesterday,
many of you have been through different programs of learning at one point or another in your life.
So again, that is something that you're already acquainted with something that you're comfortable with showing respect to your teachers.
But what I want to say very, very briefly, is
when you many of you have come from different programs of learning, you've experienced different,
different, you know, educational programs, where they were shorter and shorter in duration, or it was a part time study type of thing. When you learn full time from someone, and you spend an extensive amount of time with someone, it's natural that you will also start to see, you will become aware of, and automatically you'll start to notice weaknesses of that person shortcomings of that person.
That's why classical scholars often used to say that one of the greatest the most the the the fitna of any meaning one of the greatest test of knowledge is in regards to the family of the sheriff himself.
that oftentimes the family or the relatives or the close friends or neighbors of the shift are often people who fail to benefit from the shift the most reason why because of being neighbors because of being family members, they're the first to see the shortcomings of the shift. And they sometimes let that get in the way of benefiting from him. So now you're going to get an up close and personal look at people that you maybe learn from before, but from a distance, a couple of days at a time, a few hours for a few days.
And you will become very, very closely aware, intimately aware of their weaknesses and shortcomings.
So you need to understand one thing. No teacher, absolutely no teacher and your teachers are no exception to this are not perfect. They're not angels. They're not superheroes. They do sleep at night, they eat food, all right, they make mistakes.
Yes, they get angry.
You know, they have the same shortcomings that every human being has.
But it will be your responsibility to not let that get in the way of respecting your teacher, trusting your teacher.
And
making sure that you continue to be patient with your teacher.
That will be your responsibility, the teachers responsibility and realize that this advice seems very one sided. So what etiquette of knowledge is we're supposed to worship teachers and absolutely not.
If there are 100 pages written on the how the type of respect a student should have for his teacher, there's 400 pages written on what a teacher is responsible for providing to his students. That advice is given to teachers, from their teachers and from their colleagues. But you need to understand what you need to focus on. So while the teacher will be reminded, and the teacher reminds himself and others will remind them to be diligent to be considered to be caring, to be considered to be disciplined. At the same time, you have to understand though, because of the human human element, because of human nature, when the teacher fails your expectations of him.
Then at that time, it's very, very imperative that you continue to remain just as respectful as patient and as
as committed to studying and to learning from your teacher as you were before. It's very, very
Very important, I can't emphasize that enough. Because you are all on your way. I mean, this is the first week, let's be real. Okay? This is the first week, you are all officially on your way to this huge crisis that is about to occur. Now, I don't know whether it's gonna happen Three weeks later, or three months later, or six months later, I love it. But there's going to be this tragic moment that's going to happen here at some time in the program for you.
We're Oh my god, I can't believe he said that.
Like, I never expected him to do that. Right? And you will be outraged. very sincerely, honestly, you'll be appalled and outraged.
Like, I'm really disappointed.
But you shouldn't be all that disappointed. Because your teachers a human being, what did you expect? And that's the difference between the Taliban. And I'm going to use a very
I hesitate in using this word because it has a very negative connotation in culture, where it comes from where it originates from. But there's a difference between somebody who benefits and learns from teachers and people who literally worship teachers. The word typically uses groupie, it's not a very appropriate work. That's why I hesitated from using it, because of its origins. But that's the difference. And I came here to talk to you about that. I've done up in the long run, who and you have to understand what I'm delivering was who the loved one who was. He was certified, he was licensed he was approved by the prophet sallallahu alayhi Salaam to give fatwa during the lifetime
of the prophets a lot. So can you imagine that?
Can you imagine answering the question while the Prophet is still alive?
But he was certified by the process to answer people's questions while the Prophet son was still alive, the promises and gave him a blank check give him the ultimate certificate. The prophet SAW some told the Sahaba it's an authentic narration Hadith, the prophet of Islam said that anything that you ever hear from Abdullah bin Massoud, know that it came directly from me don't doubt it. Don't hesitate for a second ticket.
Basically, to summarize into very casual terms, he was the man
right he was dumb man.
What does Abdullah bin Masuda the Allahu anhu say that a Yeoman fensterbau who Nason Abdullah bin Masuda the Allahu anhu one day he left his home, he walked outside and people started following him. Hey,
yo, I saw a YouTube video yesterday. Right? So people following as people tend to do.
So he noticed that somebody is walking behind and following him he turns around for Allah Allah whom? Allah caminhada
Is there something I can help you with?
pallulah Listen, bro, okay, let's lacking ragna and MC mark. We just wanted to walk around behind you once just walk around with you. He said it'll do go back home. Everybody. Leave now. Everybody go back home for dinner to latavia with fitness and limit bore. Because this is humiliating.
This is degrading to the people that follow around. When somebody acts like a quote unquote groupie. It's humiliating. It's degrading.
And it's a fitna for the person that you are following. It's a fitna for the person that you are worshiping.
That you're damaging that person's emaan. You're damaging the floss in their sincerity. You're taking away their ability to objectively think
a beloved Masuda, the laguan who regularly used to tell his students and the people that would benefit from him. He said no to Allah Muna minima Allah mindef. See, if you knew about me what I know about me. If you knew about me what I actually know, that has Oh to Malasia to rob, you would walk up and throw dirt on my head. You'd stone you with rocks. So don't worship me. Don't.
And so that's very important. And that's the difference. a groupie worships the personality.
And that's what that person's obsessed about.
And that's not what we need. Trust me that's not what we need.
And that's that that's something that is unacceptable for a student of knowledge. But what we do need we need to elaborate we need students of knowledge and students of knowledge are very disciplined objective people they respect their teacher Why? Because he's the means of them taking knowledge now cuz Oh my God, he's so awesome.
I love the way he talks like that.
What
it's, it's I mean, and you're laughing because Alhamdulillah I hope and I pray and I'm confident in your past that point.
And if you're fortunate you never were at that point.
But that's what the that's what the group is obsessed about the tabular window, benefit from the knowledge respects his teacher because he's the means of him taking knowledge. And then when the teacher fails, and when the teacher disappoints him when the teacher completely
Just messes up big time
completely messes every time that students do shows up at 730, or at 8am in class and sits down and dialed in and still taking and seeking knowledge with the same amount of zeal and discipline that he was yesterday Why?
He's a human being, he made a mistake. It's all good. But we're here to do some work.
And that's very, very important.
So the gym, but the main point that I want to drive home more than anything else is, you're here to learn.
So learn,
and your teacher is not an angel is not perfect is not a superhero, he will mess up.
He will not live up to the expectations that you have built up in your head, because that's impossible.
So understand that and realize that right here right now.
Because I don't want to have any tragic cases.
I don't want to have to ask somebody to lie down and then tell me, how does that make you feel? We're not here for that. We're here to learn.
So it's very important to respect your teacher. Respect your teacher, regardless of the regardless of the shortcomings of the teacher, because he is a human being. And so please realize that that he won't be perfect, he can't be perfect.
The next thing I wanted to talk about and then I'll go ahead, just Well, the next thing I'll talk about real briefly real quickly is the study tips.
Tips to study and then I'll leave with just a couple of words of motivation. inshallah, because I've been beaten down on you guys pretty heavy last couple of days. All right. So I think I will let you guys
study tips, something very brief and concise, to the point, nothing miraculous, nothing out of this world. Nothing that I dug, I found buried inside of a cave. Alright, it's very obvious, it's common sense.
There are three steps to seeking knowledge, there is seeking knowledge is a minimum of a three step process three essential critical steps to seeking knowledge. Number one is what the scholars would refer to as motala.
What that basically means is that you review, you look over the forthcoming lesson, that might not be completely practical for you for the stage that you're learning, because you're learning grammar. And grammar is being taught to you not so much from a textbook, but is more teacher driven, more instructor driven, so that might not be completely practical. Nevertheless, you will reach a point in your studies, when you get to the reading components, when you get to the writing exercises, when you get to the classical text portion that I'll be teaching you. When you get there. Part of seeking knowledge is that when you before you go to sleep at night, or early in the morning, you actually
look at Alright, we're going to be reading these two pages today in class as a reading exercise, or, you know, we're going to be learning this these four lines from the classical text for today, let me try to sit down and make try to figure out for myself the best that I can,
the best that I can do, what that does is that speeds up the learning curve within class. Then when you come in, you sit down in class, and when I start explaining something, I don't have to repeat myself eight times. I say a once in You got it. Because half of it you figured out on your own before you came to class. And that was a part of seeking knowledge, especially when you get when you read classical texts. That's a big part of the process. Because you take a look ahead, you kind of take a look, you prepare yourself basically. All right. Number two, this is very important for you guys and his team are not to listen, but to pay attention very closely. And something that's
interesting that's told to us from the Hadith even that's that's shown to us. It's one of the lessons from some of the Hadith of the Prophet Selim, that part of paying attention to something is the eyes as well, we usually just associate that with the ears, right? Hearing, listening, paying attention. Now it's the eyes as well. That's why the Prophet of Allah sallallahu sallam, what was some of the advice that he gave to focus and pay attention in prayer?
Right, where do you look in prayer? Where do you look in prayer. That's why he told us to even fix fixing the eyes out of place, because the eyes are the first means of the mind, going to different places.
So you have to stare at the screen, you have to stare at the teacher.
All right, that's very important. And that's the difference between Sema and this demo.
I can listen I can hear while I'm doing something else. But I can't learn I can't pay attention until I'm fixed on something. So in class, pay attention to class above and beyond everything else.
Now, I know yesterday I spoke about some of the family issues and I realized there are some parents here. That's obviously the exception based on what we talked about yesterday. Realize all of these discussions they all augment
complement each other. All right. But especially like the young ones, I'm going to pick on you guys a little bit a beat up on the parents yesterday. Today's Your turn. All right? phones, social media, your email account, all of that needs to be shut down in class. I don't care.
That needs to be shut down, because there is no excuse for that. All right, if you're 18 years old, I'm pretty sure some major crucial decisions that people's lives depend upon are probably not depending on you. I'm going to take a lucky guess with that one. All right. And so No, absolutely not. And like I said, on the first day, I was just sharing like, some bits and bytes, some gems from what we were learning in class with my friends. That's nice, thank you. But do that after class? We don't need that. All right, you don't need that. So pay attention. Nothing else should distract you from what you're doing here in class.
Part of that paying attention within class is taking notes. Taking notes is very important. And I understand some people type and take notes. That's perfectly fine. It's okay. All right. I'm not hating on that at all. I can't do that. I don't do that because I can't do that because I typed like this. Alright, I don't know why but I still do. All right. superspeed. Right, but that's how I type. So nevertheless, take notes and whatever capacity you take notes, but take notes. The Prophet Ali said there's a hadith in the sun, another Buddhahood, where the Prophet alayhi salatu salam says they usually Alma Binky taba trap knowledge by writing it down.
Trap knowledge by writing it down. The son of the scholars son of two lovely and 1400 years, write down, take notes. Very important. All right.
Then the third step, and this is very important, especially again, because of the culture we're coming from. Oh, and I wanted to tell you one thing about taking notes, there's always somebody in the class that is the master note taker. I was that person in my class, I used to write with like four pens in my hands. Right, like ambidextrous was even like an insulting term to me, I could write with four pens at the same time, like eight different colors are all color coded and highlighted and marked. And it's like a eisah. Right? a textbook has my notes, it was insane. Right and hamdulillah. So students, like at exam time would like go take my notebook, and they would photocopy. Like, they
would make copies of my notes and stuff. So there's going to be those people amongst you. We had those students last year as well.
But that's fine. If you're just not a good note taker, and you're gonna eventually end up relying upon you're going to ask somebody else to email you their notes. That's okay. That shouldn't stop you from at least trying to take your own notes within class, though. Don't let that become a crutch don't become lazy is my point. You take your notes, even at the end of the day, if you don't even know what you just did.
Right? It's like shameful to even look at. It's like, Oh, no, right? That's okay. But just do that. It'll aid it'll help in this pursuit of knowledge. And it'll make you it'll keep you active. It'll keep you involved. It'll keep you attentive in class. So take notes. The third and the final step.
And this is very important again,
and that is reviewing. The classical scholars would call that tecra.
traditional learning is how to craft repetition.
It's very important, that be disciplined about that half time fixed, especially this year, the way the schedule is laid out to 30. You're done. culottes finished. And
so you have a lot of day left.
So don't just say yeah, study sometime in the evening. No, no, fix the time. We used to have mandated study times even that would be supervised.
So have a fixed study time. discipline yourself, that Fine, go home from class, you know, get some food, get some rest, run some errands.
But then six o'clock to eight o'clock? From answer to motive. I'm going to study from manipulation, I'm going to study, fix your time, be disciplined about it. All right. So review. Another thing I recommend in terms of review. Sometimes it's you might be more efficient or better at doing it by yourself. But try to do it in groups. You can always have personal study time, but have some group review time, you'll benefit from the other students, or you will benefit other students. So have group review session study sessions, sit together as groups. All right. And
again, like what I recommended, and this is going to require some discipline because, you know, people are kind of attracted to people or people kind of draw closer to people have their own, like, standard or their own status or their own capabilities. All right. I don't want the four geniuses in the classes be sitting together. I don't want that. All right. You need to split up you need to divide yourself because this is not a time where you just think about yourself for what would make you comfortable. You have to learn to think about others develop that empathy. It's very
Important, otherwise you will become that oblivious. If you've ever come across somebody who studied a lot in their lives, but is completely oblivious to people, and has no idea what's going on with people and could care less what's going on with people, it's not very hard to become that person. You just begin insulating yourself. And it just buries you deeper deeper into that bubble.
So branch out a little bit,
move across party lines, all right, walk across the aisle, not this aisle, the other aisle. All right. So all right.
reach across to the other side, there's a couple of students that are struggling a little bit more, you're going to sit with him, you're going to help them review.
Those of you who require help, when you do go to the four geniuses in the class, they're just blowing through everybody and everything. Alright, also understand they're also human beings, they also have to do their own work. They also have their own personal lives to manage. And so be a little considered, yes, they should be helping you. I'm telling them to help you. I'm also telling you don't harass them. All right. But I realized that I kind of learned that the hard way, I kept encouraging because 100, like I told you, before, I was one of those students that had that was very good at learning. So I had to be told by my teacher to help the other students. But what I didn't
realize I've kept pushing that issue so much among in different classes that I teach, I didn't realize that sometimes the other students will start to get harassed. Alright, so please be considerate of other people's time as well. But nevertheless, work together. All right, it's very important. So those are a few tips in terms of studying and learning in one thing I said before that I'll just repeat again,
you know, towards the end of our final year of studying is where we receive many of our higher ages out the licenses from the teacher to traditional classical licenses from our teachers to carry on and TC sciences on to others. So it gets very intense towards the end of that final year of study. We're literally like we're having class like 18 hours a day, because we have to complete the reading of the text to the shift to the teacher to get our ages or to get our license.
And things are very intense, right? Like, you're like, literally sleeping three, four hours a day at this point. That's crazy. It's intense.
So we come to class, and we're sitting there and one of our most senior Xu you, I mean, amazing person I learned a lot from and he says, you know, a lot of you look very fatigued, you look very tired, you look very sleepy.
I'm going to tell you what you should do. When you feel tired, and you need to study and you want to study and you start to feel sleepy and tired. I'm going to give you some tips on advice on what you can do at that time, what you should do at that time. And so we were like our racket depends on this. Is it like some superhero trick, right? Like stand on one foot and eat some honey and or something like that, right? So something intense is coming right now. Right?
And then he says, Go to sleep.
So that's it. That's very practical. You're a human being. If you don't manage that, everything else will fall apart.
Be careful, be disciplined about that. Maintain your health. All right, because otherwise you'd become useless to yourself and to everything else. Anything and everything that you think depends on you becomes useless. You become useless to it. So it's very important. So that's an another very important part of studying that make sure that you're managing overindulgence is a different issue. Like I said, again, because there's a lot of youngins, especially younger brothers. Alright, from based on my experience, I think I'm in a position to speak. Alright, sleeping 12 hours a day is not a physical need. All right, it's not human. All right. Animals sleep like that. All right. So just
to clarify, all right, but just make sure that you're well rested, and that you're ready to go.
Now,
a couple of just last few words on to motivate you to inspire you to accomplish what you've come here to accomplish.
A poet, he says cool llama Devaney. adatto
arani noxa ockley. wakulla is that two elements add an element be jolly. He says that each and every single time that? Yeah, every single time. Every single moment in my life that life was teaching me life was giving me experience and I was learning from living life. Around the laksa ockley I got to see my own lack of intelligence, my own lack of understanding. So living life and experience taught me how little I knew. And he says wakulla is that to our element at the more I continue to learn Zed any element BJ What did I continue to learn? I kept learning how little I actually knew. The more knowledge I got, the more I realized how little I actually knew.
And so that's the perspective that we have to have going into
and not to understand who you exactly are as to lovely to me.
make you understand your own status and to make you respect yourself and to make you respect your time and your efforts and what you come here to accomplish. You know, there's a beautiful Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, where the Prophet Allah sallallahu alayhi Salaam said Allah makini Myskina what admits name is Keenan, why shouldn't a yarmulke Amity fiza maratea Misaki. He said Allah as long as you keep me alive, keep me alive amongst the poor people, when I die, allow me to die amongst the ranks of the poor people. And when you raise me on the Day of Judgment raised me amongst the ranks of the poor people,
one of my teachers, very senior share of Hadeeth
he, you know, became very choked up towards the end of the year, just in class. And he said, I don't know what to do with myself when class finishes during the vacation time like I don't know what to do with myself in my time. Since I missed this
I missed this opportunity not just to teach knowledge but to sit in the company of students of knowledge is a shift is our teacher
and said I'm honored to have been in your company because he said there is nobody that is more dignified and honored by the creation of a lot even than the student of knowledge
that otherwise other attorney Haha, the Taliban in the process tells us the angels spread their wings on the ground for the students of knowledge to walk on
yourself through the human FISA mawashi woman fill out the Tahitian filma
they're all of the creation of Allah and the heavens in the earth, ask and seek forgiveness for the sooner knowledge even the fishes in the ocean.
And then our teacher used to always make dua at the end of class, along my shimmy Allah along mahine
fetal library, a lot keep as long as I'm alive, keep me in the company of students of knowledge. When I die, and I leave this world, allow me to die as a student of knowledge. And when you raise me on the day of judgment to a lot raise me amongst the ranks of the students of knowledge.
So you are truly blessed people. This is a huge blessing of Allah subhanaw taala in it and I honestly sincerely mean it. I know it sounds like rhetoric. I know it sounds like something standard that's meant to be said at the beginning of our program, but it is an honor, and it is a pleasure and it is a blessing of Allah subhanaw taala to be able to sit here with you and to be able to spend time with you. So please realize who you are, and what you're capable of, and what you are meant to accomplish and respect yourself. respect your time here and respect your efforts here in Sharla