Hakika, sifa zote njema ni za Allah. Tunamsifu, tunatafuta kimbilio kwake, na tunaomba msamaha wake. Tunajikinga kwa Allah na maovu ya nafsi zetu, na makosa katika matendo yetu. Yule ambaye Allah amemwongoza, hakuna wa kumpotosha, na yule ambaye Allah amempotosha, hakuna wa kumwongoza. Nashuhudia kwamba hakuna mungu anayestahili kuabudiwa isipokuwa Allah, na nashuhudia kwamba Muhammad ﷺ ni mja wake na Mtume wake.

Indeed, all praise is due to Allah. We praise Him, seek refuge with Him, and seek His Forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils of our souls, and the mistakes in our actions. Whoever Allah Guides, there is none who can misguide him, and whoever Allah misguides, there is none who can guide him. And I testify that there is none worthy of being worshipped except Allah, and I testify that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is his servant and Messenger.

{Enyi mlioamini! Mcheni Mwenyezi Mungu kwa haki ya kumcha Kwake, wala msife isipokuwa mkiwa Waislamu.}1

{“O you who believe! Have taqwa of Allah as He deserves, and do not die except as Muslims.”}1

{“Enyi watu! Mcheni Mola wenu Mlezi aliyekuumbeni kutokana na nafsi moja, na akaumba kutokana nayo mwenzi wake, na akaeneza kutoka kwao wanaume wengi na wanawake. Na mcheni Allah ambaye kwa jina lake mnadaiana haki zenu, wala msikate udugu wa uzazi. Hakika Allah daima ni Mwangalizi juu yenu.”}2

{“O people! Have taqwa of your Lord Who Created you from a single soul, and Created from it its mate, and sprouted from it many men and women. And have taqwa of Allah, from Whom you demand your mutual rights, and do not cut off the relations of the womb. Verily, Allah is Ever-Watching over you.”}2

{"Enyi mlioamini! Mcheni Allah, na semeni kauli iliyo sahihi. Atakutengenezeeni matendo yenu na atakusameheni dhambi zenu. Na yeyote anayemtii Allah na Mtume Wake, basi amepata mafanikio makubwa."}

{“O you who believe! Have taqwa of Allah, and say that which is truthful. He will rectify your actions for you and Forgive you your sins, and whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has indeed achieved a great success.”}3

Hakika maneno ya kweli kabisa ni Maneno ya Allah, na uongozi bora kabisa ni uongozi wa Muhammad ﷺ. Mambo mabaya kabisa ni yale yaliyoanzishwa upya, na kila jambo lililoanzishwa upya ni bid'a, na kila bid'a ni upotofu, na kila upotofu huongoza kwenye Moto.

Indeed, the most truthful of speech is the Speech of Allah, and the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace be upon him). The worst of affairs are those that are newly introduced, and every newly introduced affair is an innovation, and every innovation is a misguidance, and every misguidance leads to the Fire.

Tafadhali nipe maandishi unayotaka nitafsiri kutoka Kiingereza kwenda Kiswahili. Mara tu utakaponitumia, nitayatafsiri kwa uaminifu na kwa lugha ya asili.

As for what follows:

Kwa kuwa elimu ni ibada ya moyo, siri ya uhai wake, na chanzo cha nguvu zake, ni lazima kwa anayeitafuta kuijua adabu zinazohusiana nayo, na kujitahidi kwa uwezo wake wote kupata adabu hizi. Vinginevyo, atakuwa anakwenda upande mmoja, na elimu itakwenda upande mwingine, kama inavyosemwa:

Since knowledge is the worship of the heart, the secret of its life, and the source of its power, it is a must for its seeker to come to know the manners related to it, and to strive his utmost to obtain these manners. Otherwise, he will be going in one direction, and knowledge will be going in another, as it is said:

Ilienda mashariki, nami nikaenda magharibi * Ni tofauti kubwa kiasi gani kati ya mashariki na magharibi! Mtu pia anapaswa kutambua kwamba adabu hizi si kama adabu nyingine zozote, ambazo ni sawa iwe mtu anazipata au hapana, au ambazo zote ziko katika kiwango kimoja. Bali baadhi yake ni wajibu kwa kila mtu popote alipo, awe mwanafunzi wa elimu au asiwe.

It went east, and I went west * What a difference there is between the east and west! One should also realize that these manners are not like any other manners, where it is the same whether you obtain them or not, or that they are all of one level. Rather, some of them are obligatory upon everyone everywhere, whether or not they are students of knowledge.

Madhumuni ya kupata elimu ya Shari'ah ni kukamilisha uwazi wa kueleza, na madhumuni ya kukamilisha uwazi wa kueleza ni kumtakasa Allah na kumwabudu. Kwa hiyo, madhumuni ya kutafuta elimu ni kumtakasa Allah – Mwenye nguvu na Mtukufu – na kumwabudu, na ujumbe unafikia kwa ufanisi zaidi pale ambapo yule aliyejiweka tayari kushughulikia elimu hii – awe mwanafunzi au mwalimu – anaonyesha wazi alama hizi za kumtakasa Allah na kumwabudu kwa kujisalimisha kikamilifu kwa Shari'ah safi na Dini tukufu.

The purpose of attaining knowledge of the Shari’ah is to perfect one’s clarity of expression, and the purpose of perfecting one’s clarity of expression is to single out Allah and worship Him. Therefore, the purpose of seeking knowledge is to single out Allah – the Mighty and Majestic – and worship Him, and the message gets across much better when the one who has positioned himself to deal with this knowledge – whether he is a student or teacher – clearly shows these signs of singling out Allah and worshipping Him by submitting completely to the pure Shari’ah and noble Religion.

Kwa msingi huu, adabu za kutafuta elimu hii hazitenganishwi kabisa na mtu anayeshughulika nayo, kwa kuwa ndivyo matini zinavyoonyesha, na kwa kuwa adabu hizi zina kanuni kubwa za Dini ambazo si anasa ya mtu yeyote kuzipinga au kuzipuuza bila kuzichukulia kwa uzito.

Based on this, the manners of seeking this knowledge are completely inseparable from the person who deals with it, because this is what the texts show, and because these manners include vast principles of the Religion that are not within anybody’s luxury to contradict or look to without taking seriously.

Na adabu hizi ni wajibu ulio wazi kwa mwenye kutafuta elimu wakati wote, na Allah ndiye mwenye kusaidia, na kwake Yeye ndio kutegemea kote.

And these manners are at all times a definite obligation upon the seeker of knowledge, and Allah is the source of help, and upon Him is all reliance.

Yafuatayo ni mkusanyiko wa adabu ambazo mtafuta elimu lazima azizingatie:

What follows is a collection of the manners that the seeker of knowledge must abide by: