Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh
Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim
1. Introduction
Friends whom Allah has blessed, in the modern academic world we are familiar with terms like academic integrity, originality, and research ethics. But long before modern universities formulated these rules, Islam had already laid down a comprehensive foundation for the ethics of learning (adābul muta‘allim). From the perspective of cognitive and Islamic spiritual psychology, ethics in learning is not just a matter of formal behavior—it is the key that opens futūḥ, the unlocking of the seals of understanding within a student’s heart.The ethics of learning in Islam demand purity of intention from petty worldly motives, and mental readiness to listen to knowledge with full focus. Knowledge will not settle in a heart that is noisy and distracted.
Allah ﷻ commands us to have excellent listening etiquette when revelation or knowledge is recited:
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنْصِتُوا لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
“And when the Qur’an is recited, listen to it attentively and be silent, that you may receive mercy.” (QS. Al-A‘rāf: 204)
Although this verse speaks about the Qur’an, scholars use it as evidence for the general ethics of absorbing knowledge: _al-istimā‘_—listening attentively—and _al-inshāt_—remaining silent and focused. Without this etiquette, knowledge will pass by like a breeze.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also warned of the danger of seeking knowledge when its ethics are violated, such as pursuing it only for arrogance or to put others down
لَا تَعَلَّمُوا الْعِلْمَ لِتُبَاهُوا بِهِ الْعُلَمَاءَ، وَلَا لِتُمَارُوا بِهِ السُّفَهَاءَ، وَلَا تَخَيَّرُوا بِهِ الْمَجَالِسَ، فَمَنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَالنَّارُ النَّارُ
“Do not seek knowledge to boast before scholars, nor to argue with the foolish, nor to pick and choose gatherings for popularity. Whoever does that, then it is the Fire, the Fire.” (HR. Ibn Mājah)
2. Lessons and Moral Message
The fundamental moral message of these ethics is the importance of honoring the process. In Islam, knowledge is attained through submission of the soul, not through the arrogance of a buyer who feels he has already paid. The ethics of learning train us to value every drop of a teacher’s sweat, to preserve the sanctity of the gathering, and not to interrupt when knowledge is being conveyed.Let us remember the story of Imām Mālik ibn Anas, the compiler of Al-Muwaṭa’. Whenever he was about to teach or narrate a hadith of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he would perform ghusl, wear his cleanest and finest clothes, apply perfume, and wrap his turban neatly. He would sit upright with dignity from the beginning to the end of the gathering out of reverence for knowledge.One day while teaching, Imām Mālik’s face turned pale and he held his breath repeatedly, yet he did not stop reciting the hadith. After the gathering ended, the students checked his seat and were shocked to find that a scorpion had stung his foot 16 times! He endured excruciating pain out of his commitment to the etiquette of preserving the sanctity of the Prophet’s hadith so that it would not be interrupted.Compare that with the sad reality today: in classrooms or online gatherings, many of us listen to a teacher while lying down, playing games under the table, or busy typing snarky comments on social media. We want blessed knowledge, but we trample on its most basic etiquette.The ethics of learning are like a sturdy fence protecting a beautiful flower garden. The flowers blooming in that garden are our insight, memorization, and understanding.
If the garden has no fence of ethics—if we fail to guard our tongues from hurting teachers or we are fond of cheating—then wild animals, in the form of arrogance, the loss of blessing, and the hatred of others, will enter and ravage the garden. In the end, our garden of knowledge is destroyed and no longer beautiful to behold.
There is a story about a new student who wanted to practice the etiquette of “recording knowledge” so it would not be lost. The teacher said at the start of class, “Children, tie down knowledge by writing it down.”The student, full of enthusiasm, immediately took out a brand-new notebook and an expensive pen. But throughout the lesson, he didn’t focus on listening to the teacher’s explanation. He was busy decorating the chapter titles with colorful markers, drawing flowing calligraphy in the margins, and underlining every word with a metal ruler to make it look neat.When class ended, his friend looked at his very aesthetic notebook—completely empty—and asked, “What did you write down?”
The student replied proudly, “There’s no content yet, but look, the tie that binds knowledge is already so aesthetic, right? Now I just need to wait for the knowledge to come through!”The lesson: The etiquette of note-taking is good, but don’t get trapped in the outward formality until you forget the main substance, which is to listen and understand with the heart. Don’t be so busy decorating the “rope” that the “game” of knowledge runs off somewhere else.
3. Conclusion and Closing
Friends, knowing and practicing the ethics of learning is what distinguishes a true seeker of knowledge from a mere collector of commercial information. Knowledge without ethics produces dry intellect and has the potential to damage the social order. Let us correct how we sit, how we listen, and how we honor our teachers, so that the knowledge entering our hearts makes us not only intelligent in mind but also pure in heart.May Allah ﷻ always guide us to be seekers of knowledge who are refined, noble in character, and granted blessed knowledge that benefits us until the Last Day
والله أعلم بالصواب
الحمد لله رب العالمين
Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmaullahi Wabarakatuh.
ِAbu Sultan Al-Qadrie
