Studying Islamic knowledge (sharee’ah sciences) in order to get a certificate and a job
Question

                What is your opinion on someone who gets a university certificate in sharee’ah sciences and his motive is to get a job? Is that included in the hadeeth which contains a warning or will repentance erase that from him? If he gets a job using this certificate, are his earnings from that haraam?.
Praise be to Allah.One should 
    have a good intention when seeking knowledge, and should seek it with the 
    aim of attaining Allaah’s pleasure by doing so. He should intend to rid 
    himself and others of ignorance. If he strives to obtain a certificate for 
    the sake of getting a job, there is no sin in that, and he should intend to 
    use this job to help him to obey Allaah and serve the Muslims.  
But if his 
    motive is limited only to getting the job for the sake of getting a salary 
    or position and other worldly interests, and he does not intend to use it to 
    help him obey Allaah and serve the Muslims, or any other good intentions, 
    then he is in grave danger and is included in the stern warning that is 
    narrated in the hadeeth in which the Messenger  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever acquires knowledge which should be sought 
    for the sake of Allaah, but he only learns it in order to attain some 
    worldly goal, he will not smell the fragrance of Paradise on the Day of 
    Resurrection.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (3664). Classed as saheeh by 
    al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 
He has to 
    correct his intention, and repent to Allaah, for repentance erases the sins 
    that came before it. The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) said: “The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin at 
    all.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah (4250); classed as hasan by al-Albaani in 
    Saheeh Ibn Maajah. 
As for the 
    earnings that come from the job he gets with this certificate, it seems that 
    there is nothing wrong with them, so long as the work that he does is 
    permissible. 
The Standing 
    Committee was asked: Is it permissible to undertake religious studies in 
    order to get a certificate? 
They 
    replied: There is nothing wrong with studying in order to get a certificate, 
    but he must strive to ensure that his intention in studying is for the sake 
    of Allaah alone, and that getting the certificate will help him to obey 
    Allaah and His Messenger and serve the Muslims. 
End quote 
    from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (12/103). 
Shaykh Ibn 
    ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked: Some seekers of shar’i 
    knowledge feel awkward about their seeking knowledge and a certificate. How 
    can the seeker of knowledge rid himself of this awkwardness. 
He replied: 
That may be 
    answered in several ways:  
1 – They 
    should not seek the certificate for its own sake, rather they should use 
    these certificates as a means to work in fields that will benefit people, 
    because jobs nowadays are based on certification, and people usually cannot 
    benefit people except through this means. Thus the intention will become 
    sound. 
2 – The one 
    who is seeking knowledge may not find it anywhere except in these colleges, 
    so he may enter them with the intention of seeking knowledge, and it does 
    not matter if he gets any certificates after that. 
3 – If a 
    person intends to attain two types of goodness at the same time – goodness 
    in this world and goodness in the Hereafter, there is nothing wrong with 
    that, because Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“And 
    whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him 
    to get out (from every difficulty).
3. And He 
    will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts 
    his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allaah will 
    accomplish his purpose. Indeed Allaah has set a measure for all things”

    [al-Talaaq 65:2-3]
This is an 
    encouragement to fear Allaah with regard to worldly affairs. 
If it is 
    said: If a person seeks some worldly goal in his work, how can it be said 
    that he is sincere? 
The answer 
    is that if he is sincere in his worship and does not intend to show off or 
    seek people’s praise for his worship, rather he is seeking some material 
    benefit from this worship, then he is not like one who shows off and tries 
    to draw closer to people by doing something that should be done only in 
    order to draw closer to Allaah, wanting them to praise him for it. However, 
    his seeking this material gain could detract from his sincerity and could 
    become a kind of shirk, and his status could become lower than that of one 
    who seeks the Hereafter only. 
I would like 
    to take this opportunity to point out that when some people speak about the 
    benefits of acts of worship they speak only of worldly benefits. For 
    example, they say that prayer is a kind of exercise and calms the nerves, 
    and the fasting helps to remove toxins and organize one’s eating. We should 
    not make worldly benefits the be-all and end-all, because that will lead to 
    a weakening of sincerity and failure to seek the Hereafter. Hence Allaah 
    stated the reason for fasting in His Book, namely that it beings about taqwa 
    (piety, fear of Allaah). The religious benefits are what really matter, and 
    the worldly benefits are secondary. When we speak to the common people we 
    should tell them about the religious aspects, and when we speak to those who 
    are not convinced by anything but material matters we should tell them about 
    both the religious and worldly aspects. For each there is a time and a 
    place. End quote from al-‘Ilm by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah 
    have mercy on him). 
And Allaah 
    knows best.