Article 10 : Virtues of Seeking (religious) Knowledge

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

۞ Ayah 1 ۞

وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ ۖ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللَّ

« And fear Allah. And Allah teaches you »¹

۞ Ayah 2 ۞

شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَأُولُو الْعِلْمِ

« Allah witnesses that there is no deity except Him, and [so do] the angels and those of knowledge »²

۞ Ayah 3 ۞

وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا

« and say, ‘My Lord, increase me in knowledge.’ »³

۞ Ayah 4 ۞

إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ

« Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge »⁴

۞ Ayah 5 ۞

هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ

« Are those who know equal to those who do not know? »⁵

۞ Ayah 6 ۞

يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ

« Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge »⁶

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Let’s now look at the ahaadeeth that talk about the virtues of seeking religious knowledge.

Knowing that, seeking knowledge is an act of worship, and for an act of worship to be valid, two conditions must be met :

1. Sincerity towards Allah

2. Following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ

Our intention must be pure and sincere, thus, this act of worship must be solely for Allah alone et not for a worldly gain.

Imam Ahmad رحمه الله adds : “The intention in seeking knowledge is to remove ignorance from yourself and others”

۞ Hadith 1 ۞

 عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ “‏ إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ ‏“‏‏

Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه:

I heard Allah’s Messenger ﷺ saying, “The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.”⁷

۞ Hadith 2 ۞

 وَرَجُلٌ تَعَلَّمَ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمَهُ وَقَرَأَ الْقُرْآنَ فَأُتِيَ بِهِ فَعَرَّفَهُ نِعَمَهُ فَعَرَفَهَا قَالَ فَمَا عَمِلْتَ فِيهَا قَالَ تَعَلَّمْتُ الْعِلْمَ وَعَلَّمْتُهُ وَقَرَأْتُ فِيكَ الْقُرْآنَ ‏.‏ قَالَ كَذَبْتَ وَلَكِنَّكَ تَعَلَّمْتَ الْعِلْمَ لِيُقَالَ عَالِمٌ ‏.‏ وَقَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ لِيُقَالَ هُوَ قَارِئٌ ‏.‏ فَقَدْ قِيلَ ثُمَّ أُمِرَ بِهِ فَسُحِبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ حَتَّى أُلْقِيَ فِي النَّارِ ‏

Then will be brought forward a man who acquired knowledge and imparted it (to others) and recited the Qur’an. He will be brought And Allah will make him recount His blessings and he will recount them (and admit having enjoyed them in his lifetime). Then will Allah ask: What did you do (to requite these blessings)? He will say: I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qur’an seeking Thy pleasure. Allah will say: You have told a lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called” a scholar,” and you recited the Qur’an so that it might be said:” He is a Qari” and such has been said. Then orders will be passed against him and he shall be dragged with his face downward and cast into the Fire.⁸

۞ Hadith 3 ۞

أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏ “‏ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ

Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه reported: The Messenger of Allah, ﷺ, said :

“Seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim.”⁹

۞ Hadith 4 ۞

عَنْ عُثْمَانَ ـ رضى الله عنه ـ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏

‏ خَيْرُكُمْ مَنْ تَعَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ وَعَلَّمَهُ ‏

Narrated `Uthman رضي الله عنه :

The Prophet ﷺ said, “The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.”¹⁰

۞ Hadith 5 ۞

أَخْبَرَنِي سَهْلُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ يَوْمَ خَيْبَرَ

فَوَاللَّهِ لأَنْ يَهْدِيَ اللَّهُ بِكَ رَجُلاً وَاحِدًا خَيْرٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَكَ حُمْرُ النَّعَمِ

Sahl Ibn Sa’d رضي الله عنه narrates : The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said on the day of Khaibar :

“By Allah, if Allah guides aright even one person through you that is better for you than to possess the most valuable of the camels.”¹¹

۞ Hadith 6 ۞

أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ مُعَاوِيَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏

‏ مَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ بِهِ خَيْرًا يُفَقِّهْهُ فِي الدِّينِ

Mu’awiyah رضي الله عنه reported: The Messenger of Allahﷺ, said:

If Allah intends goodness for someone, he gives him understanding of the religion.¹²

۞ Hadith 7 ۞

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، رضى الله عنه أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏“‏ إِذَا مَرَرْتُمْ بِرِيَاضِ الْجَنَّةِ فَارْتَعُوا ‏“‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَمَا رِيَاضُ الْجَنَّةِ قَالَ ‏“‏ حِلَقُ الذِّكْرِ ‏“‏

Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“When you pass by the gardens of Paradise, them feast.” They said: “And what are the gardens of Paradise?” He said: “The circles of remembrance.”¹³

۞ Hadith 8 ۞

سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ

‏ “‏ مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَطْلُبُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَلَكَ اللَّهُ بِهِ طَرِيقًا مِنْ طُرُقِ الْجَنَّةِ وَإِنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ لَتَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا رِضًا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ وَإِنَّ الْعَالِمَ لَيَسْتَغْفِرُ لَهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ وَالْحِيتَانُ فِي جَوْفِ الْمَاءِ وَإِنَّ فَضْلَ الْعَالِمِ عَلَى الْعَابِدِ كَفَضْلِ الْقَمَرِ لَيْلَةَ الْبَدْرِ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَوَاكِبِ وَإِنَّ الْعُلَمَاءَ وَرَثَةُ الأَنْبِيَاءِ وَإِنَّ الأَنْبِيَاءَ لَمْ يُوَرِّثُوا دِينَارًا وَلاَ دِرْهَمًا وَرَّثُوا الْعِلْمَ فَمَنْ أَخَذَهُ أَخَذَ بِحَظٍّ وَافِرٍ ‏“‏

I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise. The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.¹⁴