The Obstacles In The Path Of Learning

By the Mercy of Allah SWT I was able to go the 'Mercy Mission- Twins of Faith' Conference albeit 2 hours late. This is the notes I made of Sheikh Waleed Basyouni’s lecture. Subhanallah my notes do not make any justice to the wonderful lecture the sheikh gave. His was filled with so many beautiful ahadeeth, stories from the tabi'een and some funny ones at that too.
This is especially for Umm J., who had to miss the lecture because of Junayd and Romaisa - I think that little ones the culprit though, May Allah preserve them all, Ameen. However, the notes are what I was able to understand of the lecture as such I haven’t quoted any Hadith as I was not able to find the exact wording. If and when I do, Insha’ Allah I will edit this post accordingly. The points may be flawed, if they are please correct them on the ‘comments’ and I will make the adjustments. Also If you remember any of the interesting stories the sheikh mentioned, please share that too.

THE OBSTACLES IN THE PATH OF LEARNING

1. The corrupt intention (Niyyah) – One of the main reasons in the path of learning is the wrong intention. We take it for granted. There are two actions that are required for deeds to be accepted. The first being the ‘correct’ intention and the second which is that the action is in accordance to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet SAW. Of the two conditions mentioned many take the first condition for granted and jump into the second. What we fail to realise that the early scholars use to fight with their inner selves to perfect their intention. ‘Ilm is when knowledge you learnt leaves an impact in your heart to want to follow it up with actions. Some of the results of improper intention are:-

• The person will always love to show off hate to be in a place where he/she will not be recognised. The Prophet SAW character was such that he did not allow his As’haabis to walk behind him, in such a way that people would think he is the king.

• They will always praise themselves and love to be praised for doing things that they never did themselves. Umar RAL was reported to have said if anyone says he is an ‘Aalim then know that he is Jaahil (ignorant). The pious Ulemah (scholars) of the past were very humble.

• If a person does not have the pure intention, they will rush to finish what they are learning and not pay attention to observing and applying any of the knowledge that they have learnt.

• When a person’s intention is not pure, he/she will avoid coming to places of learning and instead will want to act like a student.

• They will focus on learning certain areas or fields (e.g.: Qiraat or Usool-ul-fiqh*) with which they can teach as opposed to learning the finer depths other fields of Islam.

• They will become ignorant of the fact that they are ignorant. This will be a punishment from Allah SWT.

2. “I AM TOO BUSY” – Lack of organisation and misuse of time. There are so many things to do in a person’s life that they fail to organise themselves and manage their time efficiently.
3. “INSHA’ ALLAH, NEXT YEAR” – A person procrastinates to the point that death overtakes him and he has achieved nothing in terms of his ‘Ilm. You fail to realise that every day that passes, that’s you one day closer to your death.
4. Wasting ones time- On the phone/ on the TV/ on the ‘Net’. Hmmmm...
5. Not excited about learning. There is no encouragement to learn and as such one gets demotivated. To overcome this we must:-

• Remind each other about the virtues of knowledge.

• Be in the company of people who seek knowledge.

• Encourage people to read and attend lectures and beneficial gatherings.

6. Not applying what one learns- one fails to realise that you learn to apply what you learn. To overcome this one must make it a goal to apply what they learnt. The As’haabis in the past were known to memorise a few ayahs and implement the ayahs before they started memorising again.
7. Feeling hopeless and despair. One fails to realise that nothing in life comes without a struggle. We need to realise that al the great men who came before us were all came to this world helpless. However they went through great struggles in life to achieve what they did.
8. No proper institute. The students of today even if they do have the access to the knowledge, the unfortunate thing is that because they did not sit with the ‘Ulemah in a gathering for a large period, they do learn but still end up not having the ‘adab of the Shuyyukh that they learn under.
9. Start learning locally before going on larger ventures. If you want to study, do not ‘wait’ to go to a certain place or country to learn the ‘Ilm. Utilise what you already have.
10. Take the Arabic language seriously and start learning it.
11. Do not burn yourself out on da’wah projects alone. Make time to pursue with seeking ‘Ilm as well.
12. Not knowing how to set your priorities straight, if one does not prioritise this will lead to:

• Gaining arrogance
• One will also lose all they learnt.

13. Asking unnecessary questions. People often fall into the habit of asking questions about things without even having the knowledge about the basics. The smart teacher will concentrate on whether the student knows the basics. This is often the result of people entering the field without prioritising what they want to learn.
14. HASAD (envy) – Envy can kill people and eat away at ones good deeds. When one sees goodness in a person or a student of knowledge increasing in his or her ranks they feel jealousy and hatred towards them. To void this ill feeling one must suppress the feeling one gets and fight against it. This is a form of Jihad. One must also make Du’a for the person and ask Allah to help rid oneself of having ill feelings.
15. NOT KNOWING WHAT ONE WANTS