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Muhammad ibn Khalifa al-Tamimi

Talib al-Ilm bayn Amanat al-Tahammul wa Masuliyyat al-Ada

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Talib al-Ilm bayn Amanat al-Tahammul wa Masuliyyat al-Ada (The Student of Knowledge Between the Trust of Reception and the Responsibility of Conveyance) is an academic treatise by Muhammad ibn Khalifa al-Tamimi, a professor at the College of Da'wah and Usul al-Din at the Islamic University of Madinah, addressing the duties of acquiring and transmitting Islamic religious knowledge.

Purpose and Themes

The author composed the treatise to elucidate the guidance contained in the Quranic verse: فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِنْ كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ لِيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنْذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ ("And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious" [Al-Tawbah: 122]).

Al-Tamimi explains that the phrase "to obtain understanding in the religion" refers to the trust of acquiring knowledge (amanat al-tahammul), obliging the student to master religious understanding before stepping forward to teach. The subsequent phrase "and warn their people when they return to them" signifies the responsibility of conveyance (mas'uliyyat al-ada'), which falls upon the seeker after acquiring beneficial knowledge.

Structure

The treatise is organized into an introduction, three main sections (mabahith), and a conclusion:

  • The First Section: The Honor of Knowledge and the Virtue of Its People (Sharaf al-ilm wa fadl ahlih), divided into three subsections:

    1. Evidence from the Holy Quran.
    2. Evidence from the Sunnah.
    3. Statements of scholars.

  • The Second Section: The Path to Acquiring Sacred Knowledge (al-Sabil ila tahammul al-ilm al-shar'i), divided into four subsections:

    1. The student's need for intellect (dhaka') and spiritual purity (zaka').
    2. The stages of attaining knowledge.
    3. The etiquette of the student of knowledge.
    4. Obstacles to acquiring knowledge.

  • The Third Section: The Responsibility of Conveying Knowledge (Mas'uliyyat ada' al-ilm), divided into two subsections:

    1. The responsibility of conveying knowledge through action and practice.
    2. The responsibility of conveying knowledge through teaching.

In the conclusion, the author emphasizes the importance of seizing youth and free time for study, warning that failing in the trust of reception leads inevitably to failing in conveyance, as one who lacks something cannot give it. He urges students to emulate the prophetic model of patience, gentleness, and sincere counsel when conveying knowledge.

Publication

The work was published as an academic paper in the Journal of the Islamic University of Madinah (Issue 119, 1423 AH / 2002 CE) by the Deanship of Scientific Research, and has also circulated as an independent short treatise.

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