Monday 1 August 2011

The Ruling on Seeking Knowledge in the Month of Ramadan

The Ruling on Seeking Knowledge in the Month of Ramadan

Question Posed by:
Sakinah bint Sheikh Muhammad Nasirul Deen al Albani

She stated: All praise belongs to Allah alone, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon His Messenger. For that which proceeds:
 
I asked my father (may Allah have mercy on him) the following question:
 
I read that some of the scholars of the past would stop teaching in the month of Ramadan for the purpose of focusing on recitation of the Quran. These individuals were from amongst those who gave religious verdicts, but during this month, they would not issue verdicts to people. Is this information correct, and if so, should I concentrate solely on recitation of the Quran, consequently leaving off reading hadiths and their explanations, and should I postpone lessons of the science of Quranic recitation[1] and other similar actions?
Sheikh al Albani responded to his daughter's question, he stated:
 
There is no origin in the Sunnah for this deed, but rather, that which is mentioned in the Sunnah, which is reported in Saheeh al Bukhari, and Saheeh Muslim, is increasing is one's recitation of the Quran in the month of Ramadan. 

As for only concentrating on the Quran in this month, and abandoning other forms of worship, such as seeking knowledge, teaching hadiths and explaining them, this action has no proof from the Sunnah. Similar to this is the issue of doing other pious deeds such as giving charity, and being kind to others, etc. 

So in summary, abandoning other forms of good deeds and only focusing on recitation of the Quran, there is no proof from the Sunnah to support such an act, but rather what is mentioned in the Sunnah is that one increases in his recitation of the Quran.

Link for original text:
Translator's comment:

1. The above mentioned statement does not at all mean that a person shouldn't focus on the Quran in the month of Ramadan, as is clearly stated in the fatwa, but what is intended is that a person should understand that just because Ramadan approaches, doesn't necessitate that one stops seeking knowledge and other forms of worship, but rather, one is encouraged to increase in his recitation of the Quran along with his performance of other righteous deeds in this blessed month, and from the greatest forms of righteous deeds is seeking knowledge of one's religion.
2. There was an interesting article on www.sahab.net in which the author explained how seeking knowledge, especially knowledge of hadeeth is in fact a part of studying the Quran. This is because the Sunnah has been revealed to explain and clarify the Quran, and therefore it is hoped that a person who continues to study the Sunnah during the month of Ramadan gets rewarded greatly. 

In the same article, the author also brought light to the fact that the Salaf al Saleh considered teaching and studying similar to remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Quran, due to the fact that by learning, one is seeking clarity and understanding of the Book of Allah or of the authentic Sunnah of His beloved Messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

3. I have also heard the above statement mentioned by some of the senior students of Sheikh 'Abdul 'Azeez bin Baaz and the students of Sheikh Ahmad al Najmi, to the extent that last year, Sheikh Ali al Hadadi began teaching Saheeh al Bukhari, from the beginning of the book, in the month of Ramadan.


[1] The Sheikh's daughter and her sister (may Allah preserve her) have authored a very detailed book on the science of Tajweed (Quranic recitation), she also was responsible for typing and formatting some of her father's works such as some of the volumes of Silsilat ahadeeth al Saheeha and others.

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