A Man Seeks Knowledge In His Seventies

Transcription:

وَشَيْئًا عَجِيبًا، ذَاتَ مَرَّةٍ أَتَى شَخْصٌ، أَيَّامَ الشَّيْخِ مُقْبِلٍ، أَتَى شَخْصٌ عُمُرُهُ سَبْعُونَ سَنَةً، قَالَ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ، يَحْفَظَ، يَتَعَلَّمَ، وَكَانَ عِنْدَهُ اهْتِمَامٌ.
وَاللَّهِ يَحْفَظُ الْحُرُوفَ، وَيَأْخُذُ كُتُبَ الْقِرَاءَةِ وَالْكِتَابَةِ، لِيَتَعَلَّمَ. مَا هِيَ إِلَّا تَقْرِيبًا، أَظُنُّ، خَمْسُ سَنَوَاتٍ أَوْ سِتٌّ، إِذَا هُوَ يَخْرُجُ مَعَنَا خَطِيبًا إِلَى صَعْدَةَ، تَعَلَّمَ، حَفِظَ الْقُرْآنَ، حَفِظَ الرِّيَاضَ [رِيَاضَ الصَّالِحِينَ]، خِلَالَ سِتِّ سَنَوَاتٍ.

لَمْ يَكُنْ يَنَامُ، كَانَ سَاكِنًا فِي مِنْطَقَةِ الْمَزْرَعَةِ، وَكَانَ آخِرَ اللَّيْلِ، فِي الثُّلُثِ الْأَخِيرِ، يَأْخُذُ كُتُبَهُ وَيَخْرُجُ: "أَلِف...بَاء...تَاء"، يَعْنِي فِي الْمَسْجِدِ. يَخْرُجُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ يَحْفَظُ الْحُرُوفَ. هِمَّةٌ!

فَأَنْتَ يَا أَخِي بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكَ، لَا يَكُونُ عِنْدَكَ أَنَّكَ لَا تَفْهَمُ، أَنَّكَ كَذَا...
هَذِهِ كُلُّهَا وَسَاوِسُ الشَّيْطَانِ.
أَمَّا أَهْلُ الإِيمَانِ يَسْتَعِينُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَيَمْضُونَ. لَا تَقُلْ هَذَا الدَّرْسُ صَعْبٌ... هَذَا الْكِتَابُ صَعْبٌ. عُمُرُهُ سَبْعُونَ سَنَةً. عُمُرُ هَذَا الرَّجُلِ سَبْعُونَ، عُمُرُهُ سَبْعُونَ سَنَةً، تَمَامًا، لِحْيَتُهُ بَيْضَاءُ، مُكْتَمِلَةُ الْبَيَاضِ، لَمْ يُوجَدْ سَوَادٌ إِلَّا شَعْرُ حَاجِبِهِ فَقَطْ. وَإِلَّا فَرَأْسُهُ أَبْيَضُ وَلِحْيَتُهُ بَيْضَاءُ.

وَاللَّهُ الْمُسْتَعَانُ.
المصدر: شرح الشيخ أبو عمار محمد العزازي للتحفة السنية، الدرس التاسع، الزمن: 6:29

Translation:
Here’s something remarkable: once, during the time of shaykh Muqbil, a man came—he was seventy years old. He said he wanted to read, memorize, and learn, and he was genuinely interested. By Allaah, he would memorize the letters and take beginner reading and writing books to learn. It was only about, I think, five or six years before he was going out with us as a khateeb to Sa'dah. He learned, he memorized the Qur'aan, and he memorized ar-Riyaadh [Riyaadh as-Saaliheen] in six years.

He hardly slept. He was living in the farm area, and in the last part of the night, during the final third, he would take his books and go out: "Alif...baa'...taa'". He would go to the masjid and study the letters. Determination!

So you, my brother, may Allaah grant you barakah, don’t think that you "don’t understand" and so on…all of that is from the waswasah of the shaytaan.
As for people of Eemaan, they seek Allaah’s help and move forward. Don’t say, "This lesson is difficult"…"this book is difficult". He was seventy. A full seventy. His beard was white, completely white. There was no black hair except the hair of his eyebrows. His head was white and his beard was white.

And help is to be sought from Allaah alone.

Source: Lessons of at-Tuhfah as-Sunniyyah by shaykh Aboo Ammaar Muhammad al-'Uzaazy. Lesson 9, time: 6:29.

Translated by Abdurrahmaan bnu Meehoob al-Qaddaary.