Advice to someone who has a stammer and wants to seek knowledge and teach it to people

We ask Allah, may He be exalted, to decree healing and reward
for you, healing from this problem with which Allah is testing you and
reward for attaining knowledge and for your intention to spread it among
people. 

This stammer with which Allah is testing you is a problem
that requires patience in order to rid yourself of it, and training to teach
the tongue to pronounce words steadily and out loud, with confidence. But
before all of that you should seek the help of Allah, may He be exalted. It
has to do with your psychology and sometimes, in some people, it has to do
with a physical problem. We advise you to consult specialists in speech
therapy and diseases of the jaw and tongue. 

In al-Mawsoo‘ah al-‘Arabiyyah al-‘Aalamiyyah it says: 

There are a number of ways in which those who have a stammer
can attain perfect fluency. These ways include: reading out loud with
others, talking in supportive environments, or talking with friends. End
quote. 

 Whatever the case: 

You should understand that you will be rewarded for attaining
knowledge, and the difficulty that you suffer in attaining it will increase
you in reward. 

It was narrated that ‘Aa’ishah said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The one who is skilled in
reciting Qur’an will be with the noble, obedient scribes and the one who
recites Qur’an and falters therein, and finds it difficult, will have a
double reward.”

Narrated by Muslim (798) 

Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

Faltering refers to stumbling and having difficulty in
speech. He will have a double reward, because of his recitation and because
of the difficulty he encounters. 

Tafseer al-Qurtubi
(1/30). 

If you want to benefit others with what you learn of
knowledge, then you have two options: 

1.

You can benefit people with your writings, in which case it
is not essential that the one who seeks to benefit others should be able to
pronounce the letters well. There are leading scholars of Islam from among
the early generations of whose knowledge nothing has reached us except their
books; we have not heard a single letter from them. Some of the contemporary
scholars and callers decided to refrain from addressing people directly –
which does not necessarily mean that they cannot express themselves well –
and they focus their efforts on benefitting others by their pens and writing
very useful books. There is a great deal of room for writing in newspapers,
magazines, websites and other options. 

2.

You can make your resolve firm and face reality head-on by
meeting people face-to-face and teaching them verbally. Some of the imams
and other scholars also had a stammer, but when they ascended the minbar and
spoke to people, they would speak fluently and with ease, and there would be
no stumbling over even a single letter. One of these scholars was Shaykh
‘Abd ar-Rahman ad-Dawsari (may Allah have mercy on him), and there are other
famous scholars. This was their situation; the stammer did not prevent them
from being eloquent khateebs, and in some cases they combined that with
brilliant writing. 

There is another example, a virtuous sister who studied
sharee‘ah until she obtained her PhD in that field. Read what she herself
says: 

When I looked at my peers and colleagues in the department, I
found that some of them were able to brush off the dust of the Shaytaan –
namely blameworthy shyness when calling people to Allah – and why could I
not do that too? Why could I not instil in myself trust in Allah? So I
decided to begin straightaway in the prayer room of the university. My
specialisation in da‘wah had given me particular insight into the scheming
of our enemies, and their ongoing war against Islam, so how long would we
have to wait to respond? I thought about a way to treat my stammer, which
was by not speaking quickly and – in the beginning – not looking at the
audience; rather I would look around the room so that I would not feel
nervous. Any letter that I could not pronounce easily, I would change it to
another letter that was easier for me. 

By the grace of Allah, I began to give lessons in the prayer
room of the University, but without supervision from any of the female
professors. Obviously, supervision of the female professors may give
strength and support to the one who wants to call people to Allah, and make
her more precise and correct in what she is discussing and teaching, so that
it will not be mere expressions of emotion. 

End quote. 

We also give you the glad tidings that one of the people we
know who are active in seeking and spreading knowledge also has a stammer;
even though he cannot rid himself of it, his classes and lectures have
benefitted many seekers of knowledge. Giving classes is different from
preaching, and it is possible to benefit seekers of knowledge and teach them
many books, even before ridding oneself of this problem. So go ahead with
that to which Allah has opened your heart of seeking beneficial knowledge,
and remember that if you  are sincere towards Allah, may He be exalted, in
your intention to seek and spread knowledge, then you will be rewarded
whatever the case, whether you are able to actually spread knowledge and
teach, or something prevents you from doing that. 

We ask Allah to make your affairs easy for you and to enable
you to do that which pleases Him. 

For information on the virtues of seeking knowledge and of
the scholars, please see the answer to question no.
10471. 

And Allah knows best.