Can you provide me with information about the people of knowledge from whom one can take [guidance], from the time of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, until now?

Knowledge is only to be acquired from those who are upright, pious, and sound in belief, such as the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, the great Tabi‘een and their students, the four Imams, the Imams of Hadith like al-Bukhari and Muslim, the compilers of the madhahib among the later jurists like Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, and those who followed their path, and then the later Shaykhs of Ahl al-Sunnah like Ibn Baz and al-Albani.

Among the indispensable books for seeking knowledge are: 1. Aqeedah (Creed): The books of Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab and Ibn Taymiyyah, and al-Aqeedah al-Tahawiyyah and its commentary. 2. Hadith and its commentaries: The Six Books, Fath al-Bari, Riyadh al-Salihin, Bulugh al-Maram, and al-Muntaqa. 3. Fiqh (Jurisprudence): Zad al-Mustaqni‘, al-Mughni, and al-Majmoo‘. 4. Tafsir (Exegesis): Tafsir al-Tabari, Ibn Katheer, al-Sa‘di, and Adwa’ al-Bayan. 5. Fatawa (Religious Edicts): Majmoo‘ al-Fatawa by Ibn Taymiyyah, and the Fatawa of Ibn Baz and Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, and the Permanent Committee for Islamic Research and Issuing Fatwas.