INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING THE SACRED SCIENCES (MRF 101)

A man came to Abū al-Dardāʾ while he was in Damascus. Abū al-Dardāʾ asked him, “What has brought you here, my brother?” He replied, “A hadith which you relate from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.” Abū al-Dardāʾ asked, “Have you come for some worldly need?” He replied, “No.” “Have you come for business?” He replied, “No.” “You have come only to seek this hadith?” He said, “Yes.” Abū al-Dardāʾ then said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say: ‘Whoever travels a path seeking sacred knowledge, Allah will place him on a path leading to Paradise. The angels lower their wings for the student of sacred knowledge, pleased with what he is doing. The creatures in the heavens and earth seek forgiveness for the student of sacred knowledge, even the fish in the water. The superiority of the religious scholar over the devout worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over the other heavenly bodies. The religious scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets leave no money as a bequest, rather they leave knowledge. Whoever seizes it has taken a bountiful share.’” (Related by Imāms Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah) This is the introductory course for the Marifa Program. In this course you will learn about:

• the virtues of seeking knowledge;
• the etiquette of learning the sacred sciences; and
• the pitfalls of learning.

You will also receive an overview of the major Islamic sciences and what they entail through what are known as al-mabādī al-ʿashara [the ten introductory principles].