Aslam

Praise be to Allah.

1.How should he deal

with the book?

Dealing with the book involves several

things:

1 – Knowing the subject of the book –

so that he can benefit from it, because he needs to specialize. It may

be a book of sihr (witchcraft) or trickery or falsehood. So he has to

know the subject of the book so that he can benefit from it.

2 – He has to know its terminology. Because

knowing the terminology means that you will save a lot of time. This

is what the scholars do in the introduction to their books, for example

we know that when the author of Buloogh al Maraam says “agreed

upon”, he means that the hadeeth was narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim,

whereas the author of al-Muntaqaa uses this phrase in a different

manner – when he says “agreed upon”, he means that the hadeeth was narrated

by Imaam Ahmad, al-Bukhaari and Muslim. Similarly in books of fiqh,

the scholars use the words qawlayn, wajhayn, riwaayatayn

and ihtimaalayn differently. Riwaayatayn (two reports)

means two reports from the imaam; wajhayn (two views) means two

views among the companions, i.e., the companions of the leaders of the

madhhab; ihtimaalayn (two possibilities) is used in cases of

uncertainty as to which of the two views is correct; and qawlayn

(two opinions) is more general in meaning than that.

Similarly, we also need to know what

an author means if he says ijmaa’ (consensus) or wifaaq

(agreement). If he says ijmaa’, he means consensus among the

ummah, and if he says wifaaq he means agreement with the three

imams, as is the usage of the author of al-Furoo’ concerning

Hanbali fiqh. Similarly the followers of each madhhab all have their

own terminology, so it is essential to know the terminology of the author.

3 – Knowing the style and phrases used

in the book.  Hence you will find that when you read a book for

the first time, especially the academic books which are filled with

knowledge, you will come across a phrase whose meaning you will have

to ponder over, because you are not familiar with it. But if you read

the book again you will become familiar with it.

There is also something which needs to

be added to the book, which is writing comments in the margins and at

the foot of the pages. This is something which the seeker of knowledge

needs to make the most of. If he comes across something which needs

further explanation or evidence, and he is afraid that he may forget

it, then he should make a note either in the margin or at the foot of

the page. Often a person misses out on such benefits because he does

not make notes which take no more than a minute or two to do. Then when

he comes back he may or may not remember it.

The seeker of knowledge has to pay attention

to that, especially in books of fiqh. In some books you may come across

a matter and its rulings which causes you to be confused and have doubts.

If you refer to books which are more comprehensive than the book you

are reading, and you find something which explains the matter, then

you should make a note of it so that you can refer to it again if you

need to, without having to refer to the original book from which you

have quoted it. This will save you time.

2 – Reading books is of two types

1 – Reading in depth to ponder and understand.

This necessarily takes time.

2 – A quick reading to get an idea of

the subject of the book, the topics covered and the content of the book.

This is done by thumbing through the book and skimming it. This does

not involve the same level of thinking as the first method. The best

way to read books is to ponder the meanings and seek help from scholars

who have understanding. It comes as no surprise that the book which

is most deserving of such a reading is the Book of Allaah. You must

be patient and persist in reading, for man has not been given any greater

gift than patience.

3 – Collecting books

The seeker of knowledge should be keen

to collect books, but he should prioritize. If a person does not have

much money, then it is not good and is not wise to buy a lot of books

and have to pay for them, because this is bad management. If you cannot

buy books with your own money, then you can borrow them from any library.

4 – Being keen to read important books

The seeker of knowledge must be keen

to read the most important reference books, not modern works, because

some of the modern writers do not have deep knowledge, so if you read

what they have written you will find that it is superficial. They may

quote things verbatim, or they may distort them to make them longer,

but it is all waffle. So you have to read the most important reference

works written by the salaf, because they are better and more blessed

than many of the books of the later generation. Most of the books of

the later writers are short on meanings but long-winded. You may read

a whole page which could have been summarized in one or two lines. But

you will find the books of the salaf to be easy, straightforward and

well written, with not even one word that has no meaning.

Among the best books that the seeker

of knowledge must be keen to read are

the books of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim

(may Allaah have mercy on them both). It is known that the books of

Ibn al-Qayyim are easier, because the style of Ibn Taymiyah is strongly-worded

because of his abundant knowledge and alert mind, and Ibn al-Qayyim

saw the knowledge of Ibn Taymiyah as a well-built house, and his own

role as that of organizing and adorning. But Ibn al-Qayyim was free

minded; if he thought that his shaykh’s view differed from what he thought

was correct, he would speak up. When he thought that the pilgrim should

go out of ihraam for Hajj then re-enter ihraam for ‘Umrah, because Ibn

‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) thought that if the person

who has not brought an animal for sacrifice enters ihraam for Hajj or

Qiraan, he must go out of ihraam for Hajj then enter ihraam for ‘Umrah,

whereas Ibn Taymiyah thought that this applied only to the Sahaabah,

he [Ibn al-Qayyim] said, “I am more inclined towards the opinion of

Ibn ‘Abbaas than to the opinion of my shaykh.” He clearly stated that

he was of a different view, so he was independent in his thinking. But

it comes as no surprise that he followed his shaykh (may Allaah have

mercy on him) in matters which he thought were true and correct. Undoubtedly

if you think about most of the opinions of Ibn Taymiyah you will find

that they are correct. This is something which anyone who ponders his

books will know.

5 – Evaluating books

Books may be divided into three types:

1 – Good books

2 – Bad books

3 – Books which are neither good nor

bad.

Try to make sure that your bookshelf

is free of books which have bad content. There are books which are described

as literature, but they simply kill time without producing any benefit.

And there are harmful books which contain specific ideas or promote

incorrect ideology. These also should not be allowed on your bookshelf,

whether that is because the methodology the use is wrong, or because

of their wrong understanding of ‘aqeedah, and revolutionary books which

promote a harmful ideology.

In general, no harmful book should be

allowed on your bookshelf, because books nourish the soul just as food

and drink nourish the body. If you nourish it with books such as those

it will cause you a great deal of harm and you will follow a methodology

which goes against the methodology of the seeker of sound knowledge.