There are some youths who know the way of true guidance to Allaah and are very keen to seek knowledge, but their circumstances do not allow them to do so. Is it enough for them to listen to the tapes recorded by shaykhs, and will they then be like other seekers of knowledge?
Praise be to Allah.With regard to whether this is enough for
them, there is no doubt that this is good enough if they cannot go and be with the
scholars. It makes up for not being able to be with the people of knowledge, although
being with them is preferable and makes it easier to understand and discuss matters. But
if they cannot do that, then listening to tapes is enough, because this is all they can
do.
Can they be regarded as students or seekers of knowledge when
they are limiting themselves to that? We say, yes they can, if they make a great effort,
just as a person can become a scholar if he takes knowledge from books. But the difference
between taking knowledge from books and tapes and receiving it directly from the scholars
is that it is much better to take it directly from the scholars, because then it is easy
to discuss things, unlike when listening to tapes or reading books. It requires a great
deal of effort to learn all aspects of knowledge in this way. (By the same token, learning
directly from scholars means that one is less likely to misunderstand things than when one
learns from tapes and books).