The worth of acquiring knowledge depends on the intention behind it: one must intend to seek the pleasure of God, to remove ignorance from oneself and others, and to revive the faith, not to gain reputation, worldly office, or praise from rulers. The same act of study yields reward or loss depending solely on this inner purpose.
Knowledge is attained only through reverence (ta'zim) for the teacher, the book, and the subject itself: the student should not walk ahead of the teacher, sit in his place, or speak without permission, and should honor even the physical book by not stretching his legs toward it. This veneration, not raw effort alone, is treated as the operative condition for retaining and benefiting from what is learned.
Mastery comes from constancy and regular repetition rather than sporadic bursts of effort, so the student should fix a steady daily portion and return to prior lessons repeatedly. Overloading oneself beyond capacity is counterproductive; a sustainable rhythm maintained without interruption is what consolidates knowledge.