How should a Muslim deal with books of knowledge?
Question

                How should a Muslim deal with books of knowledge?
Praise be to Allah. 
          1.How should he deal 
          with the book?
 
          Dealing with the book involves several 
          things: 
 
          1 – Knowing the subject of the book – 
          so that he can benefit from it, because he needs to specialize. It may 
          be a book of sihr (witchcraft) or trickery or falsehood. So he has to 
          know the subject of the book so that he can benefit from it. 
 
          2 – He has to know its terminology. Because 
          knowing the terminology means that you will save a lot of time. This 
          is what the scholars do in the introduction to their books, for example 
          we know that when the author of Buloogh al Maraam says “agreed 
          upon”, he means that the hadeeth was narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim, 
          whereas the author of al-Muntaqaa uses this phrase in a different 
          manner – when he says “agreed upon”, he means that the hadeeth was narrated 
          by Imaam Ahmad, al-Bukhaari and Muslim. Similarly in books of fiqh, 
          the scholars use the words qawlayn, wajhayn, riwaayatayn 
          and ihtimaalayn differently. Riwaayatayn (two reports) 
          means two reports from the imaam; wajhayn (two views) means two 
          views among the companions, i.e., the companions of the leaders of the 
          madhhab; ihtimaalayn (two possibilities) is used in cases of 
          uncertainty as to which of the two views is correct; and qawlayn 
          (two opinions) is more general in meaning than that. 
 
          Similarly, we also need to know what 
          an author means if he says ijmaa’ (consensus) or wifaaq 
          (agreement). If he says ijmaa’, he means consensus among the 
          ummah, and if he says wifaaq he means agreement with the three 
          imams, as is the usage of the author of al-Furoo’ concerning 
          Hanbali fiqh. Similarly the followers of each madhhab all have their 
          own terminology, so it is essential to know the terminology of the author. 
 
          3 – Knowing the style and phrases used 
          in the book.  Hence you will find that when you read a book for 
          the first time, especially the academic books which are filled with 
          knowledge, you will come across a phrase whose meaning you will have 
          to ponder over, because you are not familiar with it. But if you read 
          the book again you will become familiar with it. 
 
          There is also something which needs to 
          be added to the book, which is writing comments in the margins and at 
          the foot of the pages. This is something which the seeker of knowledge 
          needs to make the most of. If he comes across something which needs 
          further explanation or evidence, and he is afraid that he may forget 
          it, then he should make a note either in the margin or at the foot of 
          the page. Often a person misses out on such benefits because he does 
          not make notes which take no more than a minute or two to do. Then when 
          he comes back he may or may not remember it. 
 
          The seeker of knowledge has to pay attention 
          to that, especially in books of fiqh. In some books you may come across 
          a matter and its rulings which causes you to be confused and have doubts. 
          If you refer to books which are more comprehensive than the book you 
          are reading, and you find something which explains the matter, then 
          you should make a note of it so that you can refer to it again if you 
          need to, without having to refer to the original book from which you 
          have quoted it. This will save you time. 
 
          2 – Reading books is of two types
 
          1 – Reading in depth to ponder and understand. 
          This necessarily takes time. 
 
          2 – A quick reading to get an idea of 
          the subject of the book, the topics covered and the content of the book. 
          This is done by thumbing through the book and skimming it. This does 
          not involve the same level of thinking as the first method. The best 
          way to read books is to ponder the meanings and seek help from scholars 
          who have understanding. It comes as no surprise that the book which 
          is most deserving of such a reading is the Book of Allaah. You must 
          be patient and persist in reading, for man has not been given any greater 
          gift than patience. 
 
          3 – Collecting books
 
          The seeker of knowledge should be keen 
          to collect books, but he should prioritize. If a person does not have 
          much money, then it is not good and is not wise to buy a lot of books 
          and have to pay for them, because this is bad management. If you cannot 
          buy books with your own money, then you can borrow them from any library. 
 
          4 – Being keen to read important books
 
          The seeker of knowledge must be keen 
          to read the most important reference books, not modern works, because 
          some of the modern writers do not have deep knowledge, so if you read 
          what they have written you will find that it is superficial. They may 
          quote things verbatim, or they may distort them to make them longer, 
          but it is all waffle. So you have to read the most important reference 
          works written by the salaf, because they are better and more blessed 
          than many of the books of the later generation. Most of the books of 
          the later writers are short on meanings but long-winded. You may read 
          a whole page which could have been summarized in one or two lines. But 
          you will find the books of the salaf to be easy, straightforward and 
          well written, with not even one word that has no meaning. 
 
          Among the best books that the seeker 
          of knowledge must be keen to read are 
          the books of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and his student Ibn al-Qayyim 
          (may Allaah have mercy on them both). It is known that the books of 
          Ibn al-Qayyim are easier, because the style of Ibn Taymiyah is strongly-worded 
          because of his abundant knowledge and alert mind, and Ibn al-Qayyim 
          saw the knowledge of Ibn Taymiyah as a well-built house, and his own 
          role as that of organizing and adorning. But Ibn al-Qayyim was free 
          minded; if he thought that his shaykh’s view differed from what he thought 
          was correct, he would speak up. When he thought that the pilgrim should 
          go out of ihraam for Hajj then re-enter ihraam for ‘Umrah, because Ibn 
          ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) thought that if the person 
          who has not brought an animal for sacrifice enters ihraam for Hajj or 
          Qiraan, he must go out of ihraam for Hajj then enter ihraam for ‘Umrah, 
          whereas Ibn Taymiyah thought that this applied only to the Sahaabah, 
          he [Ibn al-Qayyim] said, “I am more inclined towards the opinion of 
          Ibn ‘Abbaas than to the opinion of my shaykh.” He clearly stated that 
          he was of a different view, so he was independent in his thinking. But 
          it comes as no surprise that he followed his shaykh (may Allaah have 
          mercy on him) in matters which he thought were true and correct. Undoubtedly 
          if you think about most of the opinions of Ibn Taymiyah you will find 
          that they are correct. This is something which anyone who ponders his 
          books will know. 
 
          5 – Evaluating books
 
          Books may be divided into three types:
 
           1 – Good books
 
          2 – Bad books
 
          3 – Books which are neither good nor 
          bad.
 
           Try to make sure that your bookshelf 
          is free of books which have bad content. There are books which are described 
          as literature, but they simply kill time without producing any benefit. 
          And there are harmful books which contain specific ideas or promote 
          incorrect ideology. These also should not be allowed on your bookshelf, 
          whether that is because the methodology the use is wrong, or because 
          of their wrong understanding of ‘aqeedah, and revolutionary books which 
          promote a harmful ideology.  
 
          In general, no harmful book should be 
          allowed on your bookshelf, because books nourish the soul just as food 
          and drink nourish the body. If you nourish it with books such as those 
          it will cause you a great deal of harm and you will follow a methodology 
          which goes against the methodology of the seeker of sound knowledge.