How should a Talib-ul-Ilm spend his holidays?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ،
الحمد لله ربِّ العالمين ، وصلَّى الله وسلَّم على المبعوث رحمة للعالمين ، وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين ، وسلَّم تسليماً كثيراً أمَّا بعد:
After praising Allah,Subhanahu wa Ta’ala,and sending Salutations upon His Nabi ﷺ.I would like to pen down a few points on how the Muslim student should spend his or her holidays.
Holidays are usually seen as a time wherein we,as students, can be free of our obligations of studying and making notes and memorizing and we can relax and sleep our time around,and eat to our fill.
However,the case with us should be the opposite. Holidays should be a time when we as students, either as Islamic Studies students or Modern Education students,must spend our free time to get closer to Allah and His Deen.
The Prophet ﷺ had informed us that the two Nia’mahs wasted away by people are ‘health and free time’
Ibn Abbas reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said,
“There are two blessings which many people waste: health and free time.”
(Bukhari, Volume 8,Book 76, Book of Heart Softeners)
How can we be called serious students of Knowledge or serious Muslims if we are careless about our time? Our pious predecessors,were more stingy about their time than their wealth.
Imaam Ibnul Qayyim (Rahimahullaah) stated:
”Time wasting is more serious than death because time wasting cuts you off from Allaah and the home of the afterlife, whereas death cuts you off from the worldly life and its people.’’
[Source: Al-Fawaaid…page 59]
Shaykh Abdur Razzaq Al-Badr Hafidhaullah said in one of his lectures(source Abdurrahman.org):
“Some of the people squander time and waste their time with actions even in that which is impermissible. For this reason you find some of those people who are heedless, they make the expression using the words ‘killing time’ as if (time) is an enemy!! The time is a type of wealth and what goes away from it does not return. The one who has intellect, he is the one who values his time and he is cautious from killing and squandering it.”
It should not be the case with us that we ask Allah more time when our death arrives. How sad it should be when we begin for the journey into the Akhirah(end) from The Qabr (grave) , we do not take enough provisions for the travel? Our free time should help us acchieve that. In sha Allah.
Until, when death comes to one of them, he says:”My Lord! Send me back, That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.”
[Surah Al-Mu’minoon: Aayahs 99-100]
The only chance you have in this Duniya (world) to collect Hasanaat (good deeds) is this moment,this life. You won’t get another chance again no matter what.
Students,don’t waste your time in useless things even if Halal. (Things like oversleeping for long hours after praying Fajr, wasteful gossips, busying yourself with a lot of news etc.)
Prophet ﷺ: “From the perfection of Islam of a person is leaving alone that which does not concern him”
(at-Tirmidhî (2318),Authentic)
First of all,I advice all of you to read and reflect over the proofs that Allah exists,and His Deen is The Truth,His Messenger ﷺ is Truthful and The Jannah and Jahannum are truthful,and that The Quran is The Book of Allah.
Read ‘The Sharh (Explanation) of The Three Fundamental Principles’ by Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saleh Al Uthaymeen Rahimahullah,which is a small but explanative book,Alhamdulillah.
Also read (in Arabic),the book Fadl-ul-Islam by Shaikh Mohammed ibn Abdul Wahhab Rahimahullah. This book will make you proud about being a Muslim and you’d thank Allah enormously upon being born as a Muslim.
“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.”
(Quran 3:85)
It was reported from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (ﷺ) said:
“By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, not one of this nation, Jew or Christian, will hear of me and will die without having believed in that with which I have been sent, but he will be one of the dwellers of Hell fire.”
(Narrated by Sahih Muslim,153)
Learning the meanings of the ninety names of Allah has a great effect in keeping one upon The Deen with Isteqamah (Firmness).There is a very good lecture series by Ustadh Muhammad Tim Humble on ’99 names of Allah’,and it’s not very copiously long so you may benefit easily from it.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Allah has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one. Anyone who learns them will enter Jannah. According to another narration: Anyone who memorizes them will enter Jannah.
(Agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)
[If possible try to read Kitab-ut-Tawhweed of Shaikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan which is a short but summarized book on topics like Tawheed, Shirk, Kufr, Nifaq, Aqeedah towards Sahaba and Ahlul-Bayt,Bidah etc.]
I also request you to go through the Tafseer (explanations) of the Suwar (surahs) you’ve memorized.Especially the Meccan Suwar found in the last 3 Ajza (Juzzs).A good short Tafseer would be The Summarized Tafseer Ibn Katheer by Safi-ur-Rehman Mubarakpuri Rahimahullah.
Since we somehow pray the 5 Salawaat normally. We should try to bag more Nawafil and their rewards.
(In case you’re lax at the 5 Salawaat,make it a point to perfect it,and if you’re a brother,hit the Masjid for every obligatory Salah in The Jamaah.)
As far as additional worship is concerned remember that Nawafil(superogatory deeds) make us more beloved to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. Holidays are a marvellous time to do so.
I’ll mention some here as a quick reminder,and there are many more Sunan (Sunnahs) you can do.
▪The 12 Rakahs of Rawatib Sunnahs.
The mother of the faithful Umm Habibah Ramlah bint Abu Sufyan narrated that she heard the Prophet ﷺ saying:
“A house will be built in paradise for every Muslim who offers twelve Rak’ah of optional salah other than the obligatory salah in day and night, to seek pleasure of Allah.” (Sahih Muslim)
Note : These extra 12 rakaats of optional prayers, according to Imam Nasaai and Tirmithi are : 2 rakaats before the obligatory prayer of Early morning (fajr), and 4 rakaats before (Duhr) and 2 rakaats after it ,and 2 rakaats after the obligatory of early evening prayer (magrib) and 2 rakaats after the obligatory prayer of night (isha) prayer.
▪The 2 Rakahs of Dhuha after Fajr and Dhikr till sunrise(I.e.15 mins after sunrise(Tulu’) when the sky is clear according to Shaikh Al-Uthaymeen)
Prophet ﷺ said: “Whoever prays Fajr in congregation then sits remembering Allaah until the sun rises, then prays two rak’ahs, will have a reward like that of Hajj and ‘Umrah, complete, complete, complete.”
(al-Tirmidhi (586),Hassan by Al-Albani)
▪Add another 2 and make it 4 and seek this virtue.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah the Exalted says: ‘O Son of Adam, do not be heedless of praying 4 rakʿahs for Me in the beginning of your day and (as a result) I shall be your sufficiency at its end.’”
(Abu Dāwūd (1289), Musnad Ahmad (22469), al-Haythami (2/239), and Sahih at-Targheeb(672))
▪The 4 Rakahs before and after Dhuhr Salah. If you’re already praying 4 before the Fardh of Dhuhr and 2 later on,add 2 more Nawafil and reap extra benefits.
Umm Habiba narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said :
“Whoever, observes the practice of offering four rak’ahs before Duhr prayer and four rak’ahs after it. Allah will shield him against the fire of hell.”
(Abu Daud and At-Tirmithi)
▪The 4 Rakahs after The Adhan of Asr and before the Fardh.
Ibn `Umar (Allah be pleased with him) relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “May Allah have mercy on a person who prays four rakats before `Asr.”
[Abu Dawud (1271) and Tirmidhi (429)]
▪The Nawafil between Maghrib and Isha.
Ahmad (22926) narrated that Hudhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and prayed Maghrib with him. When he had finished the prayer, he stood and prayed, and he kept praying until he prayed ‘Isha’. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel (470).
(Anas ibn Malik Radiallahuanhu said that this was the Salah referred to in the Ayah 32:16(Surah Sajdah))
▪Sleep early and wake up in the last third of the night to meet your Rub waiting on you to ask and grant you.Even 2 Rakahs are good enough for a start.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is prayer at night.” Narrated by Muslim, 1163.
And he said: “You should pray qiyaam al-layl, for it is the custom of the righteous who came before you and it brings you closer to your Lord, and expiates sins and prevents misdeeds.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3549; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Irwa’ al-Ghaleel, 452.
▪If you want to do more,recite a 1000 Ayaat in Qiyam ul Layl,or at least a 100 or atleast 10!
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever prays qiyaam reciting ten verses will not be recorded as one of the negligent. Whoever prays qiyaam reciting one hundred verses will be recorded as one of the devout. Whoever prays qiyaam reciting one thousand verses will be recorded as one of the muqantireen.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1398; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.
(Shaikh Al-Munajjid) “The muqantireen are those who will be given a qintaar of reward. A qintaar is a large amount of gold, and most of the scholars of Arabic language are of the view that it is four thousand dinars.”
If you’re fortunate enough to have memorized the last 2 Juzz, Ibn Hajr Al-Asqalani Rahimahullah said that from Suratul-Mulk to Suratun-Nas are a 1000 Ayaat. So you can try the feat sometime and read through the last 2 Juzz in your Qiyam-ul-Layl.
[All the Ahadith on Sunnah Salahs have been copied from Islamqa.com, may Allah preserve Shaikh Mohammed Salih al-Munajjid Hafidhahullah]
●▪Also plan on Mustahab(Sunnah) fasts like on the white days (Ayyam al-Baeedh),13,14,15 of every Lunar month.As well as Mondays and Thursdays!▪●
Some other Nawafil you can perform are:
•Read Suratul-Mulk and Suratus-Sajdah before you sleep.
•Keep a Hisnul-Muslim with Shaikh Al-Albani’s checking with you and perfect the morning and evening Adhkars.
•Read Suratul-Kahaf every Friday.
•Memorize basic Duas which we use everyday.(Need not actually sit to memorize,just read them when needed and you’ll end up memorizing them In sha Allah!)
I’ll give you a rarely mentioned bonus:
▪Read Suratul-Ikhlas 10 times and build yourself a house in Paradise.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever recites Qul huwa Allaahu ahad ten times, Allaah will build for him a house in Paradise.” (Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, 6472).
●•Please download the ‘Rewards for Dhikr Chart’ pdf from Abdurrahman.org, and see how easy it is to load up your book of deeds with Hasanaat. •●
May Allah grant all of us the Tawfeeq and Strength to do a lot of worship in our free time and other than that.Aameen.
Don’t forget to use your time to please your parents and serve them.If you really want your Duaas to be accepted,serve them,massage their feet,for example, and ask them to supplicate for you.
وَاخْفِضْ لَهُمَا جَنَاحَ الذُّلِّ مِنَ الرَّحْمَةِ وَقُلْ رَبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا
And lower unto them the wing of submission and humility through mercy, and say: “My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small.”
-Sura Al-Isra’, Ayah 24
As followers of The Noble Prophet ﷺ we also need to fulfil the rights of our families and dependants.
Anas reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allaah will ask everyone who has been given responsibility about whatever he was responsible for, until He asks a man about his family.” (Reported by Ibn Hibaan).
And the students amongst the women should be good wives to their husbands.
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allaah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means” [al-Nisaa’ 4:34]
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allaah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means” [al-Nisaa’ 4:34]
‘Ali ibn Abi Talhah said, narrating from Ibn ‘Abbaas: “Men are the protectors and maintainers of women” means, they are in charge of them, i.e., she should obey him in matters of obedience that Allaah has enjoined upon her, and obey him by treating his family well and taking care of his wealth. This was the view of Muqaatil, al-Saddi and al-Dahhaak.(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 1/492)
My dear students,worship Allah during times of ease and Allah will assist and help you in times of hardship. Use these vacations to increase your Ilm and Amal.
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Whoever would be pleased for Allah to answer him during times of hardship and difficulty, then let him increase his supplications during times of ease.”
(Sunan At-Tirmidhi 3382,Hassan by Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani)
See the situation of Syria now,are they able to worship Allah freely now? Can they sit with their familes and recite the Quran and discuss and ponder over it as you can.How can they do so,when their houses are being bombarded and their honour and life is in danger and their Mushafs are being burned and torn down by The Rafidi Alawi Apostate Shias,who are more bent upon desecrating The Muslims of Ahlus Sunnah. May Allah make it easy for them and make it for them a pathway to paradise.Aameen.Pray sincerely for them in your holidays.
Remeber the days of the Atheistic USSR(Russia),when they ruled over the Central Asian Muslim lands and banned the recitation of The Quran.The parents and teachers of The Muslims would sit underground in covered up graves and tunnels and read Islamic books and memorize The Quran,with an intention to preserve The Quran in their hearts and to preserve the Islam in their hearts and transfer it to their children.May Allah keep us steadfast upon our Deen and never give us such days.
Students,do not forget the Fithna(trial) of the Mongols (of Ghengis Khan),who ravaged the Muslim Empire and made life impossible and worship difficult.
Alhamdulillah we’re in times of ease,so seek repentance from Allah and ask him to forgive us and avert trials and tribulations from us. Ask Allah to give us Aafiyah (peace,security and all goodness).
Whenever you’re tired and exhausted but still want to benefit and try to develop your Eemaan,go through the Seerahs of the Salaf,first and foremost from Prophet Mohammed ﷺ. Reading The Sealed Nectar of Shaikh Mubarakpuri is good Alhamdulillah.
(For an authenticated reading, read The Biography of The Prophet of Islam by Dr. Mahdi Rizqullah Ahmed(2vols) and Saheeh As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Shaikh Al-Albani translated into English by Abu Sahal Fahad Barmem on ilm4all.blogspot.com)
After that,or may be other than that,read the Seerahs of The Sahaba and The Ulama from The Salaf,especially Imam Ahmad bin Hambal and the Ulama of Kutub-us-Sittah etc.
From our contemporary Ulama you can listen to the Seerahs of Imam ibn Taimiyyah,Mohammed bin Abdul Wahhab,Shaikh Al-Albani,Imam ibn Baaz,Shaikh Mohammed bin Salih al-Uthaymeen,Allama Muqbil bin Hadee al-Wadi etc.
Do try reading small beneficial booklets on different topics by the above Ulama. You should also see Arabic videos of the above Ulama with subtitles, as this helps grasp some words from the Arabic language and helps in improving it.
Also revise the knowledge and books you’ve already studied. This entrenches them in your mind.
Lastly, I would remind you with spending your time to memorize The Quran,even if half a page everyday during the holidays.
Apart from the above Nawafil, memorizing The Quran, which in itself is The First Step of seeking Islamic knowledge,has it’s own great virtues.
Al-Tirmidhi (2914) and Abu Dawood (1464) narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It will be said to the companion of the Qur’aan: Recite and rise in status, recite as you used to recite in the world, for your status will be at the last verse that you recite.”(Saheeh,Al-Albani)
The Hafidh , or the one who memorized much from The Quran,will be asked to recite in The Akhirah and his level (in The Jannah) will be at the last Ayah he read.
Shaikh Mohammed Saalih Al-Munajjid mentions: “Concerning the virtue of the hafiz who memorizes the Qur’aan, al-Bukhaari (4937) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The likeness of the one who reads Qur’aan and memorizes it is that he is with the righteous honourable scribes. The likeness of the one who reads it and tries hard to memorize it even though it is difficult for him, he will have two rewards.””
The memorizer and his parents will get what is mentioned in the saying of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ : “Whoever reads the Quran, memorizes it, and acts upon it, on the Day of Judgment he will be clad (by angels) with a crown of light, its light is like the sunlight and his parents will be clad with two garments better than the whole world and whatever it contains.” So they would amazingly ask: “What action did we do to deserve this?” They will be told: “Because your son memorized the Quran”. [Al-Haakim,Authentic]
Added to the above,the Hafidh is preferred for leadership in Islam,in the Masjid and outside it.He is preferred when being buried,and is buried before those who memorized less as Prophet Muhammad ﷺ did during his campaigns and military expeditions.
The Quran is the best tool required to admonish people and do Dawah (Calling to Allah).When read with the Tafseer it melts our hearts and makes it fertile for Tawbah and Istighfar.
Besides that,The Quran,acts as a witness for us (or against us) on The Day of Judgment. Every letter we read is rewarded 10 fold and the one who reads with difficulty is rewarded double than the one who reads with ease(as mentioned in the Hadith above).
With so many virtues,don’t worry if you’ve spent an entire evening repeating an Ayah a million times over and over again. After all it’s only rewarding and rewarding.
So isn’t spending an hour or two everyday worth it. (An advice:Use a stopwatch to count your time,as many a times we chit chat between our Quran recitation and then count it as time we gave to The Quran. So when you get distracted,stop the stopwatch and when you get back switch it on.)
□●○Hifz Motivation for students with a weak memory!!○●□
Memorizing the Qur’an is a win-win situation for a Muslim attempting it.
● If he is gifted with a powerful memory he is lucky and fortunate to complete the memorization early.
●If he has a weak memory and let’s say, has to struggle for a week for 1 line (not Ayah) of a page of the Mus’haf,in this case he is amply and enormously rewarded for repeating the very line again and again and again .And this latter one,the sttruggler&striver, will In’sha’Allah gain copiusly more amounts of Hasanaat by the time he concludes with the 30 Ajza (30 Juzzs).
May Allah grant us the guidance to memorize The Quran in its entirety and act upon it. Aameen.
In case you want to begin with Hadith memorization,download the book Minhaj-ul-Muslim As-Sagheer by Shaikh Saeed Raslan,which has around 600 short but beneficial Ahadith,all authenticated by Al-Albani. Just remember to search(online) for the names of the narrator(Sahabi) for each Hadith and the book where the Hadith is originally found (ex. Bukhari, Sunan Nasai,etc).
You may also try memorizing(or revising) all the Ahadith of Arbain An-Nawawi.
At-Tirmidhi (2658) narrated from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “May Allah beautify a man who hears a saying of mine, so he understands it, remembers it and conveys it. There may be one who conveys knowledge to someone who understands it better than he does.”
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘ (2309).
Al-Bazzaar (3416) narrated from Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut‘im, from his father (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: “May Allah beautify a man who hears a saying of mine, so he memorises it and conveys it as he heard it.”
Some students of knowledge you can benefit from online in English:
Ustadh Abdurrahman Hassan,
Ustadh Abu Taymiyyah Jelani,
Ustadh Muhammad Tim Humble,
Ustadh Tahir Wyatt,
Dr.Saleh-As-Saleh,
Ustadh Shaikh Fahad At-Tahiri,
Ustadh Muhammad Tim Humble.
♤Ustadh Abdurrahman Hassan and Dr.Saleh-As-Saleh Rahimahullah especially have a lot of beneficial knowledge based content online.
I hope this much is enough and may Allah make it rewarding for us and may Allah make it beneficial for us.
May Allah make the author and the readers act upon this…Aameen.
“Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily! You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.”(Sura Al-Baqarah, Ayah 127)
ربنا تقبل منا إنك أنت السميع العليم …
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Side note: Why seeking Islamic knowledge is important?
Seeking Islamic Knowledge is obligatory for every Muslim male and female.
Anas ibn Malik reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.”
(Ibn Mājah 224,Sahih)
The knowledge referred to here is the obligatory knowledge of The Deen (Islam:way of Life) and not the worldy sciences as mentioned by some people.
Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh [D.554H](Rahimahullah) said that a Muslim must know the basics of Islam, that is, believing in the Oneness of Allaah The Almighty and in the prophethood of Muhammad,and knowing how to perform Salah (prayer), etc.
That is every Muslim must learn the knowledge which is obligatory upon him,like Tawheed,Risalah and the rest of The Wajibaat(Obligations)of the Deen.
For example,if a Muslim is a Businessman,he is obligated to learn the Islamic Fiqh of Business,but other Muslims need not learn it as it is immediately not necessary for them.
Seeking Islamic Knowledge has great virtues and our Ulama have written beneficial books on them,and sometimes they’ve added introductions to their books on *The Virtues of Talab-ul-Ilm* .
(Read Etiquettes of Seeking Knowledge by Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid Rahimahullah)
Allah mentions in The Quran that those of The Muslims who learn and accquire Islamic Knowledge are degrees higher than those without knowledge.
Allaah says:
“Allâh will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge”
[al-Mujaadilah 58:11]
And only those amongst the Muslims who have the knowledge of Allah and His religion and are sincere in seeking Islamic knowledge fear Allah as He is to be feared the true sense.
Allaah praises them by saying:
“It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allâh”
[Faatir 35:28]
Besides this, there are many virtues of Talab ul Ilm (seeking Islamic Knowledge) mentioned in the Ahadith. Like,the fishes and creatures of the oceans and the land supplicate for the student of knowledge. Angels gather around the sittings of Ilm and spreading beneficial knowledge is one of the best ways of ensuring Sadaqatul-Jaariyah (Ongoing charity(after one’s death)).
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Allah makes the way to Jannah easy for him who treads the path in search of knowledge.”[Saheeh Muslim]
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Bibliography:
Abdurrahman.org
Islamqa.com
Alifta.org
Sunnah.com
Islamweb.net
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-a compilation by Abu Muaaz Mohammed Manna (Friday,14th Jumadi Al-Ukhra,1439), mannaforpeace2@gmail.com
Saheehus-Seerah 