How should a Muslim deal with books of knowledge?

1.How should he deal
with the book?

Dealing with the book involves several
things: 

1 – Knowing the subject of the book –
so that he can benefit from it, because he needs to specialize. It may
be a book of sihr (witchcraft) or trickery or falsehood. So he has to
know the subject of the book so that he can benefit from it. 

2 – He has to know its terminology. Because
knowing the terminology means that you will save a lot of time. This
is what the scholars do in the introduction to their books, for example
we know that when the author of Buloogh al Maraam says “agreed
upon”, he means that the hadeeth was narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim,
whereas the author of al-Muntaqaa uses this phrase in a different
manner – when he says “agreed upon”, he means that the hadeeth was narrated
by Imaam Ahmad, al-Bukhaari and Muslim. Similarly in books of fiqh,
the scholars use the words qawlayn, wajhayn, riwaayatayn
and ihtimaalayn differently. Riwaayatayn (two reports)
means two reports from the imaam; wajhayn (two views) means two
views among the companions, i.e., the companions of the leaders of the
madhhab; ihtimaalayn (two possibilities) is used in cases of
uncertainty as to which of the two views is correct; and qawlayn
(two opinions) is more general in meaning than that. 

Similarly, we also need to know what
an author means if he says ijmaa’ (consensus) or wifaaq
(agreement). If he says ijmaa’, he means consensus among the
ummah, and if he says wifaaq he means agreement with the three
imams, as is the usage of the author of al-Furoo’ concerning
Hanbali fiqh. Similarly the followers of each madhhab all have their
own terminology, so it is essential to know the terminology of the author. 

3 – Knowing the style and phrases used
in the book.  Hence you will find that when you read a book for
the first time, especially the academic books which are filled with
knowledge, you will come across a phrase whose meaning you will have
to ponder over, because you are not familiar with it. But if you read
the book again you will become familiar with it. 

There is also something which needs to
be added to the book, which is writing comments in the margins and at
the foot of the pages. This is something which the seeker of knowledge
needs to make the most of. If he comes across something which needs
further explanation or evidence, and he is afraid that he may forget
it, then he should make a note either in the margin or at the foot of
the page. Often a person misses out on such benefits because he does
not make notes which take no more than a minute or two to do. Then when
he comes back he may or may not remember it. 

The seeker of knowledge has to pay attention
to that, especially in books of fiqh. In some books you may come across
a matter and its rulings which causes you to be confused and have doubts.
If you refer to books which are more comprehensive than the book you
are reading, and you find something which explains the matter, then
you should make a note of it so that you can refer to it again if you
need to, without having to refer to the original book from which you
have quoted it. This will save you time. 

2 – Reading books is of two types

1 – Reading in depth to ponder and understand.
This necessarily takes time. 

2 – A quick reading to get an idea of
the subject of the book, the topics covered and the content of the book.
This is done by thumbing through the book and skimming it. This does
not involve the same level of thinking as the first method. The best
way to read books is to ponder the meanings and seek help from scholars
who have understanding. It comes as no surprise that the book which
is most deserving of such a reading is the Book of Allaah. You must
be patient and persist in reading, for man has not been given any greater
gift than patience. 

3 – Collecting books

The seeker of knowledge should be keen
to collect books, but he should prioritize. If a person does not have
much money, then it is not good and is not wise to buy a lot of books
and have to pay for them, because this is bad management. If you cannot
buy books with your own money, then you can borrow them from any library. 

4 – Being keen to read important books

The seeker of knowledge must be keen
to read the most important reference books, not modern works, because
some of the modern writers do not have deep knowledge, so if you read
what they have written you will find that it is superficial. They may
quote things verbatim, or they may distort them to make them longer,
but it is all waffle. So you have to read the most important reference
works written by the salaf, because they are better and more blessed
than many of the books of the later generation. Most of the books of
the later writers are short on meanings but long-winded. You may read
a whole page which could have been summarized in one or two lines. But
you will find the books of the salaf to be easy, straightforward and
well written, with not even one word that has no meaning. 

Among the best books that the seeker
of knowledge must be keen to read are
the books of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allaah have mercy on them both). It is known that the books of
Ibn al-Qayyim are easier, because the style of Ibn Taymiyah is strongly-worded
because of his abundant knowledge and alert mind, and Ibn al-Qayyim
saw the knowledge of Ibn Taymiyah as a well-built house, and his own
role as that of organizing and adorning. But Ibn al-Qayyim was free
minded; if he thought that his shaykh’s view differed from what he thought
was correct, he would speak up. When he thought that the pilgrim should
go out of ihraam for Hajj then re-enter ihraam for ‘Umrah, because Ibn
‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) thought that if the person
who has not brought an animal for sacrifice enters ihraam for Hajj or
Qiraan, he must go out of ihraam for Hajj then enter ihraam for ‘Umrah,
whereas Ibn Taymiyah thought that this applied only to the Sahaabah,
he [Ibn al-Qayyim] said, “I am more inclined towards the opinion of
Ibn ‘Abbaas than to the opinion of my shaykh.” He clearly stated that
he was of a different view, so he was independent in his thinking. But
it comes as no surprise that he followed his shaykh (may Allaah have
mercy on him) in matters which he thought were true and correct. Undoubtedly
if you think about most of the opinions of Ibn Taymiyah you will find
that they are correct. This is something which anyone who ponders his
books will know. 

5 – Evaluating books

Books may be divided into three types:

 1 – Good books

2 – Bad books

3 – Books which are neither good nor
bad.

 Try to make sure that your bookshelf
is free of books which have bad content. There are books which are described
as literature, but they simply kill time without producing any benefit.
And there are harmful books which contain specific ideas or promote
incorrect ideology. These also should not be allowed on your bookshelf,
whether that is because the methodology the use is wrong, or because
of their wrong understanding of ‘aqeedah, and revolutionary books which
promote a harmful ideology.  

In general, no harmful book should be
allowed on your bookshelf, because books nourish the soul just as food
and drink nourish the body. If you nourish it with books such as those
it will cause you a great deal of harm and you will follow a methodology
which goes against the methodology of the seeker of sound knowledge.