It is the Proximity to Allah swt that matter in the end

It is the Proximity to Allah swt that matter in the end

To senior students, his words are more thought provoking.  One of his students recalls, “I remember once when I was accompanying him from his house to the mosque where he led the prayers.   

Ayt Behjat turned to me and asked:  “A student starts with “muqaddamat” (introductory lessons) and then studies the “ma’alim” and “mughni” and then where does he go next?”  I said, “lum’ah”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “makasib”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “kifayah”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “Dars al-kharij”.  He asked, “then what?”  I said, “He attains ijtihad”.  Once again, he asked, “then what?”

The student continues, “This was a great lesson to me. I realised that knowledge itself was not the goal; it was only the means (to achieve the goal) i.e. to gain the proximity of Allah swt.  If at every one of these successive stages, the student did not achieve even a little more proximity to Allah swt, then he has not progressed much at all.”