how to prepare yourself for knowledge seeking

[Ummu Sufyaan]

:sl:
I am interested in knowing how one needs to prepare themselves for seeking knowledge. i mean what should one expect, what should their etiquette be? what would prevent one from gaining/understanding knowledge, like arrogance, sins, shyness, etc?

I heard from someone studying at an Islamic Uni, that you have to memorize (mutoon-texts) alot so you can imagine if one isn't into memorizing, then that would be of somewhat difficulty.

So im sort of wondering now what "prerequisites" are required for a student of knowledge, (such as the memorizing thing that i mentioned)? how many hours per day should one be seeking knowledge?
Also what lifestyle should one be leading, such as hours of sleep, etc.

Any personal experience would be good.

[Muhammad Aseem]

I think there is only one pre-requisite.

"DESIRE"

If you have the desire to learn, you will overcome memorizations issues, and other such trivial things when looking to learn knowledge.

[Ummshareef]

:wa:

^Yes, I agree that a strong desire is the only real presrequisite, but all Muslims should be aware that seeking knowledge is fardh (and therefore neglecting to do so is punishable) and should dedicate a significant proportion of their daily lives to doing so, insha'allah.

When I reverted I was taught to aim for 8 hours work, 8 hours sleep, and 8 hours ibadah each weekday, which after marriage I have been able to continue thanks to the support of my DH :wub:. Of course at the weekend there is more time for ibadah. Now in Islam, ibadah (worship) can include halaal activities (such as teaching the kids about Islam, halal sports, etc), but salah and Qu'ranic studies (memorisation, reading, tajweed, etc) should be set as the highest priorities and occupy the bulk of the time - I am blessed that my DH is equally passionate with respect to salah and study alhumdulillah, so we provide each other with a lot of supprt and encouragement. With regard to hours of sleep, I do need my 8 hours average, but you can build your routine around the salah times and plan in tahajjud and maybe catch up a bit at the weekend, then there is plenty of time for beneficial study.