Where Do You Derive Your Knowledge From? Knowledge comes from seeking it. It does not just descend on you. But then where is the best place to seek it from? The Need for Scholars For many of us Islam was passed down to us culturally and evolved through contact with books, courses and video clips. How do we know if our understanding is correct? To gain sound understanding, knowledge should be sought from trusted scholars. Allah Almighty says: So ask the people of the knowledge if you do not know (21:7) You cannot depend on books alone. Just as you cannot learn any subject from books alone – imagine practising law, engineering or medicine from textbooks and YouTube videos, without proper teachers. What you get from reading is not necessarily the correct understanding of the meaning. Without being aware of the context, you can get it wrong. Completely wrong! Unless knowledge is taught to you by trusted people, your attempts to understand will be like searching in the dark. At school we acquire knowledge from teachers and that is just in dunya. Knowledge of the deen is like any science, and in fact it is more than that, which makes it dangerous when we make mistakes. If a doctor makes a mistake it could have fatal consequences. If we misunderstand our deen, our akhirah for eternity is at stake. Ibn Sirin (may Allah be pleased with him), the tabi’een and scholar, said:  “This knowledge is a religion, so consider from whom you receive your religion.” [Muslim] Scholars have said: قال أهل العلم: لا تأخذ العلمَ من صُحُفي، ولا القرآن من مصحفي. الصحفي: الذي يقرأ في الصحف أي الكتب ولا يتلقى عن أهل العلم. المصحفي: الذي يقرأ من المصحف دون شيخ. Do not take knowledge from Suhufi, nor the Qur’an from Mushafi. … Continue reading Do I Need a Shaykh? And How Can Tell if He is a Reliable Source of Knowledge?