How Much Sacred Knowledge Must I Learn, and Must an Alim Teach Others?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

I was listening to a speech by a scholar who said, “You are committing sins if you do not learn fard ayn.” How many hours should someone spend learning the religion? One hour? Two hours? Or is even twenty minutes enough? I also have other things to do: gaining job skills, going outside, watching movies and anime, and playing games to distract my mind from depression.

I am also considering taking an alim course. If someone has become an alim, is it obligatory on them to teach other people, or their parents? I can’t teach other people because I’m an introvert. I am unemployed. Please pray for my health, my guidance, and my family.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful and Compassionate.

Wa alaykum al-salam. May Allah lift the heaviness you carry, open a door of good work for you, and grant you and your family health and guidance. I pray for you and ask you to pray for us.

In the Hanafi school, the knowledge personally obligatory on you (fard ayn) is measured by what your life needs, not by hours, and becoming a scholar (alim) does not by itself oblige you to teach.

The Path Begins Where Obligation Begins

Sacred knowledge is a trust (amana) Allah places in the seeker’s heart, and its path begins where obligation begins. Imam Sarakhsi defines that obligation: “whatever a person needs at present to fulfill what is binding on him, learning it is personally obligatory.” [Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut]

What you owe now is knowledge of sound belief; of purification, prayer, and fasting; of the rulings of your work and wealth as you take them up; and of the sins of the tongue, eyes, and heart. The speaker was right that neglecting this is sinful, but the measure is what your life calls for, not the minutes you log.

A Little, Kept, Is Most Beloved to Allah

Aisha (Allah be pleased with her) relates that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) was asked which deeds are most beloved to Allah. He said, “The most constant of them, even if little,” and he said, “Take on of deeds what you can bear.” [Bukhari]

Study less than you think you should, and sustain it longer than you think you can. Twenty or thirty minutes a day, in one essentials course under a reliable teacher, is a sound path.

A missed day doesn’t undo it; start the next morning again.

Your Work and Your Rest Are Not Against Religion

Seeking a livelihood is itself a duty. Imam Sarakhsi relates that Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan (Allah have mercy on him) said, “Seeking earnings is an obligation, just as seeking knowledge is an obligation.” [Sarakhsi, al-Mabsut] Time given to job skills, with the intention of providing, isn’t taken from your religion.

Lawful rest that restores you is a means to the good, provided it crowds out no obligation. Choose films, anime, and games with care; what leaves a residue in the heart isn’t rest.

Depression is no failing of faith. Please see a doctor or a qualified counselor. Seeking treatment is part of relying on Allah.

An Alim Need Not Become a Lecturer

Teaching beyond your own needs is a communal obligation (fard kifaya). On whether one who knows a ruling or two must explain it to others, Imam Sarakhsi reports that some Hanafi masters held it binding, but “most of them hold that it is not binding on him; it is obligatory only on those who have become known for knowledge, whose word people rely on.” [Ibid.]

He adds that some early scholars withdrew from teaching, knowing that others met the need: “Knowledge has two fruits: acting on it and teaching it. Some cannot manage both, and suffice with the fruit of acting on it.” [Ibid.]

An introvert can still share knowledge one-to-one, in writing, or by pointing people to sound teachers. With your parents, share what you have clearly learned, gently, and let your conduct speak first. At every level, one rule holds: share what you know accurately, and refer what exceeds you.

Before enrolling in an alim course, pray the prayer of seeking guidance (istikhara) and consult a teacher who knows you. It is a good path, and not the only one. Living the essentials faithfully for life is a complete fulfillment of the trust.

The Measure Is Your Own Life

What is personally obligatory is what your life needs now. This week, choose one essentials course and set a fixed daily time, however short.

Allah Most High says, “Allah taxes no soul but what He has given it; Allah shall unfailingly make after hardship lavish and total ease.” [Quran 65:7; Keller, The Quran Beheld]

The trust waits for you at your own pace, and so does His ease.

And Allah knows best.

Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

One. What Are the Things Considered Obligatory for Muslims to Know? — Shaykh Yusuf Weltch: Personally obligatory knowledge is what one needs to fulfill one’s obligations in one’s circumstances.

Two. How Much Entertainment Does Islam Allow? — Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: Lawful relaxation is not falling short when it crowds out no obligation.

Three. The Ruling on a Scholar Who Withholds Knowledge from One Who Seeks It — Shaykh Faraz A. Khan: Withholding needed knowledge from one who asks is prohibited.

Four. How Can an Introvert Improve His Daily Acts of Worship and Seeking Knowledge? — Mawlana Ilyas Patel: Introversion is a natural disposition, neither good nor bad.

Courses for Further Study

Every course here is free, each has a named teacher, and you can ask your questions to the teacher as you study.

One. Absolute Essentials of Islam — Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: Sound belief, valid purification and prayer, and the sins to avoid and virtues to build, according to the Hanafi school.

النصوص · Source-Texts

[السرخسي، المبسوط] «وَبَيَانُ هَذَا أَنَّ مَا يَحْتَاجُ الْمَرْءُ فِي الْحَالِ لِأَدَاءِ مَا لَزِمَهُ يُفْتَرَضُ عَلَيْهِ عَيْنًا عِلْمُهُ كَالطَّهَارَةِ لِأَدَاءِ الصَّلَاةِ فَإِنْ أَرَادَ التِّجَارَةَ يُفْتَرَضُ عَلَيْهِ تَعَلُّمُ مَا يَتَحَرَّزُ بِهِ عَنْ الرِّبَا وَالْعُقُودِ الْفَاسِدَةِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ مَالٌ يُفْتَرَضُ عَلَيْهِ تَعَلُّمُ زَكَاةِ جِنْسِ مَالِهِ لِيَتَمَكَّنَ بِهِ مِنْ الْأَدَاءِ، وَإِنْ لَزِمَهُ الْحَجُّ يُفْتَرَضُ عَلَيْهِ تَعَلُّمُ مَا يُؤَدِّي بِهِ الْحَجَّ»

[البخاري] «سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ أَحَبُّ إِلَى اللهِ؟ قَالَ: أَدْوَمُهَا، وَإِنْ قَلَّ، وَقَالَ: اكْلَفُوا مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ مَا تُطِيقُونَ»

[السرخسي، المبسوط] «فَقَدْ أَشَارَ مُحَمَّدٌ رحمه الله إلَى ذَلِكَ فِي قَوْلِهِ طَلَبُ الْكَسْبِ فَرِيضَةٌ، كَمَا أَنَّ طَلَبَ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ»

[السرخسي، المبسوط] «وَيَخْتَلِفُونَ فِي فَصْلٍ وَهُوَ أَنَّ مَنْ يَعْلَمُ حُكْمًا أَوْ حُكْمَيْنِ هَلْ يُفْتَرَضُ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يُبَيِّنَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ لَا يَعْلَمُهُ أَمْ لَا؟ فَعَلَى قَوْلِ بَعْضِ مَشَايِخِنَا رحمهم الله يَلْزَمُهُ ذَلِكَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَا يَلْزَمُهُ ذَلِكَ، وَإِنَّمَا يَجِبُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اشْتَهَرُوا بِالْعِلْمِ مِمَّنْ يَعْتَمِدُ النَّاسُ قَوْلَهُمْ»

[السرخسي، المبسوط] «فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَصَدَّى لِلْفَتْوَى وَالتَّعْلِيمِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ امْتَنَعَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ وَانْزَوَى لِعِلْمِهِ أَنَّهُ لَا يَتَمَكَّنُ الْخَلَلُ بِامْتِنَاعِهِ وَأَنَّ الْمَقْصُودَ حَاصِلٌ بِغَيْرِهِ، وَهَذَا؛ لِأَنَّ لِلْعِلْمِ ثَمَرَتَيْنِ الْعَمَلُ بِهِ وَالتَّعْلِيمُ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ لَا يَتَمَكَّنُ مِنْهُمَا جَمِيعًا فَيَكْتَفِي بِثَمَرَةِ الْعَمَلِ بِهِ فَعَرَفْنَا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ وَاسِعٌ»