Knowledge – Where to Begin

Which books do you advice us to study in ‘Aqeedah, Tafseer, Hadeeth and its sciences, and Fiqh?

Firstly, I advice those who want to begin in gaining knowledge [after learning Arabic] to memorize Al Usool ath Thalaath and the evidences within it, and to memorize the pillars, obligations and conditions of the Salaat. They should memorize a book that consists of all of the aforementioned information and al Qawaa’id al Arba’ah. It would also be good to memorize the conditions of La Ilaaha ilallaah and what nullifies it.

These issues should be firmly memorized, they must then go to the students of knowledge so that they may take their knowledge from the mouths of men and not the depths of books.

After that, if it is easy for them to memorize Kashf ash Shubuhaat then good, however, the book that must be memorized and studied by the student of knowledge in ‘Aqeedah, especially in Tawheed al ‘Ibaadah, a book which was written in a good method is Kitab at Tawheed al Ladhee Huwa Haqqullaah ‘ala al ‘Abid. It is a magnificent book, it consists of selected verses from the Book of Allah, Prophetic Ahadeeth and statements from the people of knowledge, a book that Allah benefited a lot of people with, we advise our youth to pay a great deal of attention to this book, by memorizing and understanding it, and by reading its explanations so that they may by solid in ‘Aqeedah.

After that, concerning the Tawheed of Allah’s Names and Attributes , it is upon the student who has a great desire to gain knowledge to memorize al Wasitiyyah or to study and understand it...