Ibn Taymiyyah’s Essay on Servitude

a small excerpt from the book:

“And those who disbelieve say: “Why is not the Quran revealed to him all at once?” Thus (it is sent down in parts), that We may strengthen your heart thereby. And We have revealed it to you gradually, in stages.”[1]”[2]

Al-Zarnooji -rahimahullah- said, “Imam Sharf ul-Din al-Uqayli – rahimahullah- used to say, “My opinion regarding learning knowledge is in agreement with what our teachers taught us. They used to teach beginners level one books because they are understandable, easy to memorize, enjoyable, and common. A beginner should not write down something he does not understand because it numbs the intelligence and is a waste of time. Instead, a beginner should focus on the task of understanding his teacher through deep thinking and repetition. Significantly, the smaller the portion in one class with repetition the more progress in understanding. A famous saying states: Memorizing two letters is better than hearing two loads, and understanding two letters is better than memorizing two loads.”[3]