Teaching the Student the Method of Studying

It touches upon the method by which a student learns Islam in a meaningful and lasting way. Its author, Imam al-Zarnuji, has attracted the attention of Western men of learning for centuries, as they tried to decipher the secret behind the stunning educational success of Islamic civilization.

Al-Zarnuj was born and lived in Zarnuj, a well-known town beyond the river Oxus in the present Turkistan. Burhan al-Din or Burhan al-Islam al-Zarnuji were his agnomen. Biographers believe that his name was al-Nu'man ibn Ibrahim. He studied with many shaykhs including: Shaykh 'Ali ibn Abi Bakr al-Marghinani al-Rushdani (the author of al-Hidayah); Shaykh Abu al-Muhamid Qawaduddin Hammad ibn Ibrahim al-Saffar; the great Shaykh Hasan ibn Mansur Qadiykhani; and others. The exact date of his death is unknown, though it is speculated that he died in 602 AH/1223 or 640 AH/1242-1243 in Bukhara.

1. The Reality of Knowledge and Jurisprudence and teh Virtue of Knowledge. 2. The Intention while Studying. 3. Choosing the Correct Knowledge. 4. Honoring Knowledge and the People of Knowledge. 5. Effort, Puncutlaity, Zeal. 6. The Beginnign of Lesson, Its Amoount and Sequence. 7. Trust. 8. The Time for Seeking Knowledge. 9. Compassion and Advice. 10. Seeking Benefit. 11. Piety while Studying. 12. Factors Which improve Memory. 13. Factors which increase or decrease sustenance.