Chapters on Knowledge

Mu‘āwiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him the understanding of the religion. Indeed, I am only a distributor, and Allah is the Giver. This Ummah will continue to follow Allah's laws, not being harmed by those who oppose them, until Allah's command comes to pass."

Abu Ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will facilitate for him a path to Paradise. Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure at what he does. Verily, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, ask forgiveness from Allah for the knowledgeable. The superiority of a scholar over a devout worshiper is like the superiority of the moon over the rest of the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham, only knowledge. So whoever acquires it has actually taken abundant wealth."

Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever goes out to seek knowledge is in the cause of Allah until he returns.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He who is asked something he knows and conceals it will have a bridle of fire put on him on the Day of Resurrection."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people; rather, He takes away knowledge with the death of the scholars until, when He leaves no scholar behind, the people turn to the ignorant as their leaders. They are asked, so they give religious judgments without knowledge; thus they are led astray and lead others astray.”

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "May Allah brighten the person who hears something from us and conveys it as he heard it, for perhaps the one to whom it is conveyed is more mindful than the hearer."

Abu Sa‘īd al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not write down anything from me, and he who wrote down anything from me except the Qur'an, he should erase it. But, narrate from me, for there is nothing wrong in doing so. Whoever attributes any falsehood to me - Hammām said: I think he also said 'deliberately' - let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.”

Al-Miqdām ibn Ma‘dikarib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Lo! Soon a Hadīth from me will be conveyed to a man, while he is reclining on his couch, and he says: ‘Between us and you is Allah’s Book. So, whatever we find in it that is lawful, we consider lawful, and whatever we find in it that is unlawful, we consider unlawful.’ Indeed, whatever the Messenger of Allah made unlawful, it is the same as what Allah made unlawful."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever tells a lie about me intentionally, let him take his seat in Hellfire."

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever calls to guidance shall receive a reward similar to the rewards obtained by those who followed him without diminishing anything from their rewards. And whoever calls to misguidance shall incur a sin similar to the sins incurred by those who followed him without diminishing anything from their sins."

Abu Ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will facilitate for him a path to Paradise. Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure at what he does. Verily, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, ask forgiveness from Allah for the knowledgeable. The superiority of a scholar over a devout worshiper is like the superiority of the moon over the rest of the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham, only knowledge. So whoever acquires it has actually taken abundant wealth."

Abu ’Umāmah al-Bāhili (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Two men were mentioned to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): one of them was a devout worshipper and the other a scholar. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The superiority of the scholar over the worshiper is like my superiority over the lowest among you." Then, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, Allah, His angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the ant in its hole, and even the fish, invoke blessings upon one who teaches people goodness."