Should a student prioritize seeking knowledge or calling others?
2026-09-21
F44 · Selected fatwas
Shaykh Ibn Bāz
الشيخ عبد العزيز بن باز
Original Q&A · Complete published question and answer
The complete published question and answer are included, with presenter follow-ups and closing remarks where present. The browsing title is editorial.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
أيّهما نُقدّم: الدَّعوة أم طلب العلم؟
الجواب
قَدِّم طلب العلم والدَّعوة معه، الدعوة ما يمكن أن تُقدّم، الذي ما عنده علمٌ كيف يدعو؟! الذي ما عنده علمٌ جاهل.
يُقدّم طلب العلم، والدَّعوة تكون مع ذلك، كلما حصّلتَ علمًا تدعو، إذا عرفت الصلاةَ وأحكامها تدعو إليها على علمٍ، عرفت الزكاة وأحكامها تدعو إليها على علمٍ، عرفت التوحيد وحقيقته والشِّرك وحقيقته تدعو إلى ذلك على علمٍ، وهكذا كلما عرفتَ شيئًا وتبصّرتَ فيه وكنتَ على بينةٍ؛ تدعو إليه على بصيرةٍ.
ولا دعوة إلا بعلمٍ، فالعلم هو السابق، والدَّعوة هي التَّابعة.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Which should we give priority to: calling people to Allah or seeking knowledge?
Answer
Give priority to seeking knowledge, with calling people to Allah alongside it. Calling people cannot be put first: how can someone without knowledge call others? Someone who has no knowledge is ignorant.
Seeking knowledge is given priority, and calling others accompanies it. Whenever you acquire knowledge, you call others to it. When you learn about prayer and its rulings, you call to it with knowledge. When you learn about zakah and its rulings, you call to it with knowledge. When you learn tawḥīd and its reality, and shirk and its reality, you call with knowledge concerning that. Thus, whenever you learn something, gain insight into it and have clear evidence, you call to it with insight.
There is no calling to Allah without knowledge. Knowledge comes first, and calling others follows it.
Source and editorial notes
Official Ibn Bāz website fatwa 21135
الموقع الرسمي للشيخ عبد العزيز بن باز
Official website of Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz
Arabic checked against the complete official published transcript. Text is preserved; spacing is normalized and legacy honorific glyphs are expanded. The English translates every displayed paragraph; Quran quotations are translations of their meanings.