1) The greatest difficulty is the lack of sincerity. Due to the lack of sincerity there is no barakah in anything, whether that is their time, memorization etc. We know the hadeeth of the three people, from amongst them is the Qaari' who recited for the sake of the dunya and he will be amongst the first to be thrown into the hell-fire due to this.
2) Forgetfulness: One of the reasons why people forget is due to the fact that people do not value knowledge. It maybe that a person does not want to study due to his forgetfulness, but he should note that these are from the whisperings of shaytaan.
3) Low determination A student has a lot of determination at the start, but later on his determination diminishes. To fix this, there are a few things he could do a) That he reminds himself of the rewards of seeking knowledge b) Good company who will aid him in seeking in knowledge c) Manage his time properly d) Prioritize seeking knowledge.
4) Student not being able to distinguish between different books, as to whether what book he should study or not. To overcome this a) Have a teacher, so that the teacher can recommend books at the level of the student b) Look at what books the scholars recommend
5) Not being able to connect to the scholars. Solution: One should make use of the technology, and visit websites of scholars where recordings of their lessons can be found
6) Not knowing the arabic language. Indeed this is a very important language and the Qur'aan and ahadeeth are in this language. Solution: Learn the arabic language and it is easy to learn. You may not gain the fruits immediately, but later on you will realize you learnt a lot of the language. Even if you memorize 4 words a day, in the end of the year, you will realize that you have learnt a lot.
7) Being busy. Solution: As mentioned before we must prioritize to seek knowledge as this is something that raises ranks in the sight of Allaah
8) Old age. This excuse is not justified, this is because when a person studies a) he studies for the sake of Allaah and seeking reward with Allaah. The reward is not only for young people, rather for both young and old. b) he remembers the blessings of Allaah for seeking knowledge c) he remembers that many of the companions were old when they entered Islaam , yet their age did not stop them from becoming the greatest scholars of Islaam
9) Fear of people, people fear what others will speak about them, and fear of being rebuked by people. And this is from the whisperings of Shaytaan. Solution: Look into the seerah of the prophets as to how much they were mocked but yet they gave da`wah towards the worship of Allaah. We also see many of the scholars of islaam who were mocked and rebuked, but they stayed firm on this path of knowledge and they were the one's who came out to be victorious.
10) Not setting goals, a person doesn't know what sciences to study etc. Thus it is important to set goals which will help him stay organized.
11) Jealousy. It maybe that a person is jealous of another person of knowledge. This only affects himself, because there will be no barakah in his knowledge.
12) Heart is not purified. This person will not be able to gain the benefits of knowledge. Thus a person should not be jealous towards his brothers and should purify his heart. So a person should work in removing the diseases of the heart such as: Arrogance. As Allaah sets an example to the sahaabah when the Sahaabah were amazed by their huge number and they were losing in the battle due to this.
13) Thinking bad of people and busying in the mistakes of people. This will busy a person with something that doesn’t concern him
14) A person rejecting the truth due to blind following, worldly benefits or desires.
15) A person does not know how to interact with his teachers.
16) Being too shy. Sometimes a person is too shy to ask the people of knowledge and this only places a further obstacle on their path to seeking knowledge.
17) Not completely studying something properly. Due to this a person will not understand something properly due to which he will be confused and thus confuse others.
18) Being very hasty in giving fataawa without knowledge, as Allaah says "Woe to you that you speak about Allaah without knowledge" and this is most severe thing mentioned in the Qur'aan and the worst sin to commit.
Advice on seeking knowledge
1) Taqwa and this is to stay away from all that is dis-pleasing to Allaah.
2) Memorization. A person should memorize the book of Allaah and the ahadeeth
3) Maintain connections with the scholars of Islaam
4) Take one step at a time
5) Make du`aa and do adhkaar as Allaah says "Say: O Allaah increase me in knowledge"
6) Learn the principles that govern a certain science. Example: The rulings regarding intention [There are a lot of issues that is to do with intention] so if a person studies the principles pertaining to niyyah properly; like the niyyah is in the heart. Then the person can use this principle in tahaarah, salaah etc
7) Take benefit from the knowledge we have a) Act upon this knowledge, if one does not act upon his knowledge then it will either be removed from the person or it will be a hujjah against him b) Discuss amongst people c) Teach people so as to revise this knowledge d) Make da`wah towards this knowledge
