How do I find a good teacher of Islamic knowledge?

"Among them is Shaykh Imam Hadith Scholar Majd al-Din al-Qasim Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abi Abdullah Ibn al-Muala al-Dimashki born in 654 AH. Among them is Shaykh Imam Scholar Shihab al-Din Ahmad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Fala Ibn Muhammad al-Iskandari. Among them is Shaykh Imam Wali Allah Shams al-Din Ibn Abdullah Ibn Tamam. And the two Shaykhs, the brothers Shams al-Din Muhammad and Kamal al-Din Abdullah, sons of Ibrahim Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abi Umar al-Makdisi."

"to the Lord of Iraq, and in it reside the descendants of the Saint Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad al-Rifa'i, including Shaykh Izz al-Din, the current master of the al-Rifa'i Zawiyya, and his brothers Shaykh Ali and Shaykh Yahya, sons of Shaykh Ahmad Kojak, meaning the Small, son of Taj al-Din al-Rifa'i. We stayed at their Zawiyya and found their virtue to surpass others. Then we journeyed to the city of Qumish, whose name is with Adama on the Kaf, Kasra on the Mim, and Shin Mujam. It is part of the lands of the King of Iraq, a large, bustling city visited by merchants from Iraq and Sham. It has silver mines, and two days' journey"

"caution used the Chinese bowls and wooden spoons. I spoke in praise of the Sultan and lauded the scholar, which greatly pleased and delighted the Sultan. During our time with the Sultan, an elder with a turban and a tassel arrived, greeted the Sultan, and the judge and scholar stood up for him. He sat before the Sultan on the bench with the reciters below. I asked the scholar, Who is this elder? He laughed and remained silent. I repeated the question and he told me, This is a Jewish doctor. We all need him, which is why we showed the respect you saw by standing for him. I was taken aback and felt unease. I said to the Jew, Cursed one, son of a curse, how do you sit above"

"summoned us together to his residence. We entered and found him standing. We greeted him and sat with the scholar on his right and me beside the scholar. The Sultan inquired about my state, my journey to Hejaz, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, and the two Iraqs, as well as about the lands of the non-Arabs. After the meal, we departed, and he sent rice, flour, and ghee in sheep's stomachs, as was the Turkish custom. We continued in this vein for several days, being invited to his table daily. One afternoon, he joined us. The scholar sat at the head of the assembly. I sat to his left, with the Sultan to his right as the Turks' highly revered jurists. He requested I write hadiths of"

"said there is nothing wrong with him according to the Jews and the Torah of Moses. Al-Abbas continued. Then the scholar called me, and I came and sat in that gathering the next day, where Abu Sufyan ibn Harb and the scholar were present. I said to the scholar, I have heard that you asked my cousin about a man from us who claims to be the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and he informed you that he is his uncle, but he is not his uncle, he is his cousin, and I am his uncle and the brother of his father. The scholar asked, his father's brother? I replied, his father's brother. He turned to Abu Sufyan"

"the sheep was created by Allah, and yet they slaughtered it without mentioning his name. Musa ibn Uqba narrated that Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl traveled to Ash-Sham in search of the true religion. He met a Jewish scholar and asked about their faith, expressing his interest in possibly embracing it. The scholar informed him, you will not be upon our religion until you take your share of the wrath of Allah. Zayd replied, I flee only from the wrath of Allah and cannot bear any of it. Is there no other way? The scholar advised him to be a Hanif, explaining that it is the religion of Abraham, who was neither a Jew nor a"

"for he commits it today and may abandon it tomorrow." He also said, "Do not tell people of a scholar's slip, for the scholar may slip and then leave it. In the tradition, it is warned against the slip of the scholar and advised not to cut him off, but to wait for his return." In the hadith of 'Umar, when he asked about a brother he had a bond with, who went to al-Sham, he inquired from some who had come to him and said: A hadith warning against the slip of the scholar without disconnecting, waiting for his reformation, was narrated by 'Amr ibn 'Awf al-Muzani, but it is considered weak."

"al-Hashimi, originally from Basra then Baghdad. I found written in the handwriting of the Shaykh, may God have mercy on him, in various places. I heard our Shaykh, the esteemed judge and scholar, Badr al-Din Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Khaliqan al-Arbali al-Shafi'i, may God be pleased with him, say on Wednesday the 16th of Rajab in the year 660. I saw a woman reputed to have memorized the Noble Qur'an in 70 days. I also heard our Shaykh, Qadi al-Islam Kamal al-Din Salar, may God be pleased with him, say I memorized al-Tanbih in 4 months."

"He had a nocturnal omission in his sleep and saw Shaykh Abu Ishaq, the compiler of al-Muhaddab in a dream. Shaykh Abu Ishaq pushed him with his leg and said, Sit, it is not enough that you placed al-Muhaddab under your head and then became impure, or as he said, I heard our Shaykh and Master. The virtuous scholar and excellent figure is al-Din Abu Ja'far, Umar ibn As'ad ibn Abi Ghalib al-Ayli, the Shafi'i Mufti, may God have mercy on him."

"dated in the year 99, written in his handwriting. All praises belong to God alone, as the preacher informed me. I also met the centenarian Shaykh Muhammad al-Baghdadi at the corner that holds the tomb of Shaykh Salah Uthman al-Murandi. He stated that he is over 140 years old and was present at the killing of al-Mustasim Billah, the last of the Abbasid Caliphs. May God be pleased with him when he was slain by the infidel Hulagu Khan. Despite his advanced age, this Shaykh is quite robust, moving on his own two feet. The city was also home to the Samaritan Mirwunar, previously mentioned. The ruler, Caesar of the Romans, was in the service of the Sultan,"