A letter from
Shaykh Muhammad bin Salih al
‘Uthaymeen to one of his students
From Muhammad
bin Salih al ‘Uthaymeen to the son… May Allaah the Most High preserve him. As
salaamu ‘Alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, to proceed: You have asked me,
may Allaah bless you, to devise a programme so that you may live your life
according to it. Indeed, I ask Allaah the Most High that He grants all of us
success in regards to guidance and uprightness upon the truth and in that which
is correct and sound. And he makes us from those who guide others and those who
are guided, righteous and those who rectify others. So I say:
Firstly, With
Allaah the Mighty and Majestic:
1.1 Always seek to
be with Allaah the Most Mighty and Majestic by bringing to mind His greatness,
contemplating His signs in His creation: like the creation of the Heavens, the
Earth and that which is contained within them from His great wisdom, His
amazing ability and His Mercy; and His legislative signs which He sent with His
messengers especially the last of them.
1.2. That your
heart is filled with love of Allaah the Most High, because it nourishes you
with blessings and it repels from you afflictions; especially the blessings of
Islaam and being upright upon it so that it becomes the most beloved thing to
you.
1.3. That your
heart is filled with veneration of Allaah the Mighty and Majestic, so that
within your soul He is the greatest of all matters. By bringing together love
for Allaah and veneration of him in your heart you will become upright and firm
in His obedience, carrying out that which He has commanded due to your love for
Him. And abstaining from those things he has forbidden, out of your veneration
of Him.
1.4. And that you
are sincere in your worship of Him and reliant upon Him in all of your affairs,
so that you may actualize the station of (You alone we worship and from you
alone we seek aid). And that you remember in your heart that you are only
carrying out what He has commanded in compliance with His commandments; and you
leave that which he has forbidden for you, observing His prohibitions.
And as a result
of that you will find in worship a certain taste; which you will not achieve
whilst you are inattentive. And by way of it you will find in all affairs
assistance which you will not achieve by depending upon yourself.
Secondly, with
the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ:
2.1. That you give
precedence to loving him over the love of all the creation and you give
precedence to his guidance and Sunnah (way) over all other guidance and way.
2.2. That you take
him as your Imaam, the one whom you emulate, in your worship (of Allaah) and your
mannerisms, so that you remember when you are performing an act of worship that
you are following him as if he is in front of you; you are following in his
footsteps and you take his path. And likewise in dealing with the people you
conduct yourself according to his manners about which Allaah has said to him:
{And indeed, you are of a great moral character.} and when you adhere to this
(i.e. to all that he preceded) then you will be ardently concerned with the
knowledge of his sharee’ah (religion) and his mannerisms.
2.3. You are a
caller to his sunnah, you support it, are loyal to it, protect it and defend
it. And Allaah the Most High will support you according to your support for his
Sharee’ah.
Thirdly, your
daily actions other than the obligations:
3.1. When you get
up in the night then remember Allaah the Most High and supplicate for whatever
you wish, because the supplication at this point is worthy of being accepted.
And recite the saying of Allaah the Most High: { Indeed, in the creation of the
heavens and the earth…} up until you complete Soorat Al ‘Imraan and they are
ten verses in total.
3.2. Pray that
which Allaah has written for you in the last part of the night and complete
your prayer with Witr.
3.3. Observe that
which is easy for you from the remembrance for the morning. Say La ilaaha illal-lah, wahdahu la
shareeka lah, lahul-mulku walahul-hamd, wahuwa ‘Aala kulli shay-in qadeer, hundred
times.
3.4. Pray the two
units of prayer for the Duha.
Fourthly, a
methodical approach to seeking knowledge:
4.1. Pay attention
to memorising the book of Allaah the Most High and fix for yourself a specific
portion for everyday; observe its recitation and let your recitation be with
contemplation and understanding. And if you come across a benefit during your
recitation then make a note of it.
4.2. Pay attention
to memorizing that which is easy from the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger
from them is the memorization of ‘Umdat al Ahkaam.
4.3. Pay attention
to being focused and having endurance and constancy so you do not take
knowledge in a plucking manner… you take something from this and something from
that because this will waste your time and disorganise your thinking process.
4.4. Begin with
short (basic ) books and think over them carefully then move to that which is
at a level above it so that you attain knowledge gradually in a manner that will
consolidate the knowledge in your heart and you will feel confident within
yourself.
4.5. Pay attention
to understanding the fundamental issues and its basic rules and note down
everything that passes you of this kind. It has been said, ’whoever has been
denied the fundamentals has been denied the attainment of knowledge.’
4.6. Discuss the
matters with your shaykh or the one who you trust in his knowledge and religion
from your companions. If it is not possible to discuss the matters with those
we have named then even if you are able to imagine in your mind that someone is
discussing the matters with you then do so.
I ask Allaah
the Most High that He teaches you that which will benefit you; and He benefits
you with that He teaches you; and He increases you in knowledge and makes you
from His righteous servants and from his party which is successful… As salaamu ‘alaykum wa
rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu.
It was
composed by Muhammad As Salih al
‘Uthaymeen on 3, Rajab, 1312 (Hijri)1
@Aboo_Tasneem
-----------------------------------
1. Muhammad
bin Salih al ‘Uthaymeen,
Majmoo’ Al Fataawaa wa Al Rasaail, vol. 26, pp. 435-438
Translated by Abu Tasneem Mushaf
Transcribers note: edited today 2/19/2019 @ 10:45 AM
