بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم
•••
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

عن ابن القيم قَالَ وَقَالَ لِي شَيْخَ الْإِسْلَامِ ابْنَ تَيْمِيَّةَ رحمه الله مَرَّةً مَا يَصْنَعُ أَعْدَائِي بِي أَنَا جَنَّتِي وَبُسْتَانِي فِي صَدْرِي أَيْنَ رُحْت فَهِيَ مَعِي لَا تُفَارِقُنِي أَنَا حَبْسِي خَلْوَةٌ وَقَتْلِي شَهَادَةٌ وَإِخْرَاجِي مِنْ بَلَدِي سِيَاحَةٌ
1/48 الوابل الصيب من الكلم الطيب
•••
Ibn al-Qayyim reported: Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said to me once, “What can my enemies do to me? My paradise and my garden are in my heart wherever I go and they are never separated from me. If I am imprisoned, then it is seclusion for worship. If I am killed, then it is martyrdom. If they expel me from my land, then it is tourism.”
Source: al-Wābil al-Ṣayyib 1/48

وقد قيل: "من دخل في العلم وحده؛ خرج وحده"؛ أي: من دخل في طلب العلم بلا شيخ؛ خرج منه بلا علم، إذ العلم صنعة، وكل صنعة تحتاج إلى صانع، فلا بد إذاً لتعلمها من معلمها الحاذق.
•••
And it has been said: "He who enters into knowledge alone; exits alone,” That is, he who enters in the pursuit of knowledge without a sheikh. He came out of it without knowledge, for knowledge is a work, and every craft needs a maker, so it is necessary to learn it from its skilled teacher.

قال الإمام الشافعي رحمه الله:
شَكَوتُ إِلى وَكيعٍ سوءَ حِفظي
فَأَرشَدَني إِلى تَركِ المَعاصي
وَأَخبَرَني بِأَنَّ العِلمَ نورٌ
وَنورُ اللَهِ لا يُهدى لِعاصي
•••
Imam ash-Shaafi`ee once said: I complained to Wakee` (a famous scholar from the Salaf and one of the teachers of ash-Shaafi`ee) about my poor memory. So he advised me to abandon the disobedience of Allah, and said: “know that knowledge is light. And the light of Allah is not bestowed upon a disobedient”.

قال ‏ابن العباس رضي الله عنه:
‎
لا تجالس أهل الأهواء فإن مجالستهم ممرضة للقلوب
•••
Ibn Abbaas (رضي الله عنه) said:

‎“Do not sit with the people of desires (i.e. ahlul bidah) for indeed sitting with them will cause sickness to the hearts.”

‎[Al-Ibaanah 2/438]

I am poor (Poem written in Prison) Ibn Taymiyyah ‏رحمه الله
‏أنا الفقير (قصيدة مكتوبة في السجن) ‏شيخ الإسلام ابن تيمية رحمه الله
•••
Good people come, and all they strived for was knowledge of the deen, they packed for the hereafter and left nothing but the knowledge, which they learnt, understood, worked on, and spread.

Best Way To Preserve ʿIlm

‏قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:
Prophet Muḥammad Ṣallallāhu-ʿAlaihi Wa Sallam said:

قيدوا العلم بالكتاب
“Capture knowledge by writing (it down).”

● [مختصر صحيح الجامع الصغير برقم ٤٤٣٤، صححه الألباني]

عَنْ صُهَيْبٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَجَبًا لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ وَلَيْسَ ذَاكَ لِأَحَدٍ إِلَّا لِلْمُؤْمِنِ إِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ سَرَّاءُ شَكَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ ضَرَّاءُ صَبَرَ فَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُ
•••
Narrated that Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.”
Muslim (2999)

لا يكفي أن الإنسان يعلم ويتعلم بل لا بد ان يعمل بعمله، ‏فالعلم بدون عمل إنما هو حجة ‏على الإنسان، فلا يكون العلم نافعاً إلا بالعقل، أما من عَمِلَ ولم يعمل فهذا ‏مغضوب عليه ‏لانه عرف الحق وتركه في بصرة
[شرح ‏الأصول الثلاثة شيخ الفوزان ص ٢٤]
•••
Knowledge will not be beneficial except with action. As for the person who has knowledge, and he does not act upon it, then he is one upon whom is Anger, because he knows the truth, but he abandons it upon knowledge and insight.
[The Three Fundamental Principles Shaykh Fawzan Explanation pg 15]

The poem that made Imām Ahmad رحمه الله weep, "إذا ما قال لي ربي”.

You can find this poem mentioned by Imām al-Hāfidh Abu’l Faraj ibn al-Jawzī [d.597 AH] رحمه الله in his book Talblīs Iblīs p.219.

وهذا الوقت الذي هو رخيص عند كثير من الناس، يطول عليهم الوقت، يملُّون ويقولون: نريد قتل الوقت، يأتون بالملهيات أو يسافرون للخارج لقضاء العطلة والوقت، أو يضحكون ويمزحون لقطع الوقت، فهؤلاء الذين قطعوه وضيعوه سيكون خسارة وندامة عليهم يوم القيامة. وهو مصدر سعادتهم لو حافظوا عليه. فجميع بني آدم في خسارة وهلاك إلا من اتصف بأربع صفات هي: العلم، والعمل، والدعوة إلى الله، والصبر على الأذى.
‏]شرح الأصول الثلاثة شرح الشيخ فوزان ‏حفظه الله الصفحة ٣٢]
•••
And this Time which is very cheap with many people, time seems prolonged for them, they become weary and bored, and they say, “We want to kill some time”. So they bring amusements, or they travel abroad to spend a holiday and just to spend some time somewhere, or they laugh and joke to use up time. So those people, they use it up and waste it – then it will be loss and regret upon them on the Day of Resurrection. And it could be the source of their true happiness, if only they took care of it. So all of the descendents of Adam are in loss and destruction, except for those who have the four qualities which are: knowledge and action and calling to Allaah and having patience upon any harm which the person meets.
[The Three Fundamental Principles Explanation by Shaykh Fawzan page 21]

اما ترى الاسد تخشى وهي صامتة، والكلب يخسى لَعَمري وهو نبّاح
•••
Do you not see how the lion is feared, although it is silent? And yet the dog is despised, although it barks.

مَّا يَلْفِظُ مِن قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيبٌ عَتِيدٌ ﴿١٨﴾
•••
‘Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).’
[50:18]

التعلم هنا معناه: التلقي عن العلماء والحفظ والفهم والإدراك، هذا هو التعلم، ليس المراد مجرد قراءة أو مطالعة حرة كما يسمونها هذا ليس تعلما انما التعلم هو: التلقي عن أهل العلم مع حفظ ذلك وفهمه وإدراکه تماما هذا هو التعلم الصحيح أما مجرد القراءة والمطالعة فإنها لا تكفي في التعلم وإن كانت مطلوبة، وفيها فائدة لكنها لا
تكفي، ولا يكفي الاقتصار عليها.

ولا يجوز التتلمذ على الكتب كما هو الواقع في هذا الوقت، لأن التتلمذ على الكتب خطير جدا يحصل منه مفاسد وتعالم أضر من الجهل، لأن الجاهل يعرف أنه جاهل ويقف عند حده، لكن المتعالم يرى أنه عالم فيحل ما حرم الله، ويحرم ما أحل الله، ويتكلم ويقول على الله بلا علم فالمسألة خطيرة جدا.

فالعلم لا يوخذ من الكتب مباشرة إنما الكتب وسائل، أما حقيقة العلم فإنها تؤخذ عن العلماء جيلاً بعد جيل، والكتب إنما هي
وسائل لطلب العلم.

‏[شرح الاصول الثلاثة الشيخ الفوزان صفحة ٤٠-٤١]
•••
Learning means to take knowledge from the scholars, and to memorize and to understand and to comprehend, this is true learning. Learning it does not mean merely reading or ‘free reading’ as they call it, this is not learning. Rather learning is to take knowledge from the people of knowledge along with memorization of that and understanding it and comprehending it completely – this is the correct learning. As for mere reading and looking at books, then this will not suffice with regard to learning, even though it is something desirable and contains benefit however it does not suffice, and it will not suffice for a person to restrict himself to it.

And it is not permissible to just become a student with the books as occurs in this time because becoming a student of the books is very dangerous, evils can occur from it and false pretense to knowledge, which is more harmful than ignorance, because the ignorant person knows that he is ignorant so therefore he stops at his limit. However a false claimant to knowledge, he thinks that he is a scholar so he declares lawful that which Allaah has forbidden, and declares forbidden that which Allaah has made lawful, and he talks and speaks about Allaah without knowledge, so the matter is very dangerous.

So knowledge is not taken from the books directly rather the books are a means. As for true and real knowledge, then that is taken from the ‘ulemaa (scholars) generation after generation, and the books are a means to seek knowledge.

[The Three Fundamental Principles Shaykh al-Fawzaan HafithahuAllah pg 28-29]

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
•••
"O you who believe! Observing As-Saum (the fasting) is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may become Al-Muttaqun" (the pious). [2:183]

شَهۡرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِىۡٓ اُنۡزِلَ فِيۡهِ الۡقُرۡاٰنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَ بَيِّنٰتٍ مِّنَ الۡهُدٰى وَالۡفُرۡقَانِۚ فَمَنۡ شَهِدَ مِنۡكُمُ الشَّهۡرَ فَلۡيَـصُمۡهُ ؕ وَمَنۡ کَانَ مَرِيۡضًا اَوۡ عَلٰى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنۡ اَيَّامٍ اُخَرَؕ يُرِيۡدُ اللّٰهُ بِکُمُ الۡيُسۡرَ وَلَا يُرِيۡدُ بِکُمُ الۡعُسۡرَ وَلِتُکۡمِلُوا الۡعِدَّةَ وَلِتُکَبِّرُوا اللّٰهَ عَلٰى مَا هَدٰٮكُمۡ وَلَعَلَّکُمۡ تَشۡكُرُوۡنَ‏ ﴿2:185﴾
•••
The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur’ân, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allâh intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allâh [i.e. to say Takbîr (Allâhu Akbar; Allâh is the Most Great] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him. [2:185]

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ من صام رمضان إيمانا واحتسابا غفر له ما تقدم من
ذنبه ‏"‌‏.‏
•••
Allah's Messenger :SAW: said, "Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven." [Al-Bukhari]

‏اللهم بلغنا رمضان..

‏رمضان مبارك
•••
Ramadan Mubarak

‏ولم يخلقنا لهذا الحياة الدنيا فقط نعيش فيها، ونسرح ونمرح، ونأكل ونشرب، ونتوسع فيها وليس بعدها ‏شيء، وإنما الحياة مزرعة وسوق للدار الآخرة نتزود فيها بالأعمال الصالحة،ثم نموت وننتقل منها، ثم نبعث ثم نحاسب ونجازى بأعمالنا.
•••
And He did not create us just for the life of this world that we should live in it and roam around freely and make merry and eat and drink and make ourselves at home in it and that there is nothing after it. Rather life is a planting-ground and a market place for the next life so that we should equip ourselves in it with righteous deeds. Then we will die and move on from it, then we will be resurrected, then we will be taken account of, then we will be recompensed in accordance with our deeds.

(‏الأصول الثلاثة الشيخ فوزان ٤٤)
(Three Fundamental Principles Shaykh Fawzan 30)

قُلۡ يٰعِبَادِىَ الَّذِيۡنَ اَسۡرَفُوۡا عَلٰٓى اَنۡفُسِهِمۡ لَا تَقۡنَطُوۡا مِنۡ رَّحۡمَةِ اللّٰهِ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَغۡفِرُ الذُّنُوۡبَ جَمِيۡعًا ؕ اِنَّهٗ هُوَ الۡغَفُوۡرُ الرَّحِيۡمُ ‏(٥٣)
•••
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. It is He who is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

[Az-Zumar 39:53]