Be thirsty for knowledge my friend. 5 lessons from the propelling force of thirst

Make use of the propelling force of being thirsty

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN THIRSTY?
If you have gone all your waking hours without a drink, you will appreciate that wonderful elixir called water when you do get the chance to quench your thirst. Now take this thirst and have a thirst for learning . Only knowledge and more knowledge will quench that thirst and just as we need water every day and lots of it, we need knowledge.

PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM (PBUH))Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had people around him. The companions of the Prophet are known as the Sahabah. The Sahabah hold valuable knowledge either from direct communication with the Prophet or by observation. An Ansari friend is a supportive friend/ a supporter. An Ansar is a supportive friend/a supporter.

AFTER PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S PASSING
Hadhrat Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: "After the passing away of the Prophet ( peace be upon him(PBUH)), I said to an Ansari friend of mine: 'The Prophet is not now with us. But a large number of Sahabah are still among us. Let us go to them and get knowledge of the Islamic practices.'

LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED
He said: ' Who is going to approach you for learning a regulation in the presence of these eminent Sahabah?' I was not discouraged. I kept up my quest for knowledge and approached every person who was supposed to have heard something from the Prophet.

SUBSTANTIAL SOURCESI managed to gather substantial information from the Ansar.

GOING TO EXTREMESIf on my visit to someone of the Sahabah, I found him asleep, I spread my shawl at the gate and sat waiting. Sometimes my face and body would get covered with dust, but I kept sitting till they woke and I was able to contact them.

WHY SO MUCH EFFORT?Some of them said: 'Abdullah you are the cousin of the Prophet; you could have sent for us. Why did you take the trouble of coming to our places?'

STUDENT/TEACHER RELATIONSHIPI said to them: 'I must come to you, for I am a student and you are my teachers.'

WORTHWHILE WAITSome people for whom I had waited said: 'Since when have you been waiting for us?' I informed them that I had been sitting there for a pretty long time. They said: 'What a pity! You could have awakened us from our sleep.'

EVER RESPECTFULI said: 'I did not like to disturb you for my own sake.'

RELENTLESS PURSUIT
I thus carried on my pursuits, till there came a time when people began to flock to me for learning . My Ansari friend realized this at that time and remarked: 'This boy has surely proved himself more sensible than us.'"

(Source: From the book "Stories of the Sahabah" by Shaikh Muhammad Zakariyya Kaandhlawi. http://www.islamcan.com/islamic-stories/thirst-for-learning.shtml )

LESSON ONE: Let's get thirsty
We should have a similar thirst for knowledge: Knowledge to earn a living as well as gain enough knowledge of our religion , in this case, Islam.

LESSON 2: NO PAIN, NO GAINThe cousin of the Prophet (PBUH) put in a lot of time, energy and effort to obtain the knowledge. In fact he went to extremes to get it. The results were worth the effort.

LESSON 3: LESSON IN HUMILITYIt is a story of humility – a cousin of the Prophet (PBUH) with inside knowledge yet he knew others had knowledge that might be greater than his and would augment what he knew. Again however knowledgeable we are there is much more knowledge to be sought, absorbed and devoured.

LESSON 4: LESSON IN COURTESYThe cousin of the Prophet (PBUH) did not want to put people to any trouble so he would wait patiently for the time when it was convenient to converse with the people who had the special knowledge. The cousin was the epitome of courtesy, respect and patience.

LESSON 5: LESSON IN ENCOURAGEMENTThe cousin of the Prophet (PBUH) never permitted himself to be discouraged. His purpose overcame any tendency to be discouraged and that is exactly how we should be in quest for knowledge. We should be on a quest that is respectful to us and others.