وَعَن ابْن عَبَّاس قَالَ: تَدَارُسُ الْعِلْمِ سَاعَةً مِنَ اللَّيْلِ خَيْرٌ من إحيائها. رَوَاهُ الدَّارمِيّ
Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Studying together for an hour during the night is better than spending the whole night in devotions.” Darimi transmitted it.
وَعَنِ ابْنِ سِيرِينَ قَالَ: إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِينٌ فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِينَكُمْ. رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ
Ibn Sirin said, “This knowledge is a religion, so consider from whom you receive your religion.” Muslim transmitted it.
وَعَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَرَّ بِمَجْلِسَيْنِ فِي مَسْجِدِهِ فَقَالَ: «كِلَاهُمَا عَلَى خَيْرٍ وَأَحَدُهُمَا أَفْضَلُ مِنْ صَاحِبِهِ أَمَّا هَؤُلَاءِ فَيَدْعُونَ اللَّهَ وَيَرْغَبُونَ إِلَيْهِ فَإِنْ شَاءَ أَعْطَاهُمْ وَإِنْ شَاءَ مَنَعَهُمْ. وَأَمَّا هَؤُلَاءِ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ الْفِقْهَ أَوِ الْعِلْمَ وَيُعَلِّمُونَ الْجَاهِلَ فَهُمْ أَفْضَلُ وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ مُعَلِّمًا» ثمَّ جلس فيهم. رَوَاهُ الدَّارمِيّ
‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr told of God’s messenger coming upon two groups in his mosque and saying, “They are both engaged in what is good, but one of them is superior to the other. These ones are praying and supplicating God who, if He wills, may answer their prayers but, if He wills, may refuse them. Those ones are learning knowledge* and teaching the ignorant, so they are superior. I was sent only as a teacher.” He then sat down among them. Darimi transmitted it. *The text has al-fiqh au al-‘ilm, fiqh and ‘ilm having the same meaning, but the transmitter of the tradition was not sure which word was used by the Prophet on this occasion.
وَعَن حُذَيْفَة قَالَ: يَا مَعْشَرَ الْقُرَّاءِ اسْتَقِيمُوا فَقَدْ سَبَقْتُمْ سَبْقًا بَعِيدًا وَإِنْ أُخِذْتُمْ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا لَقَدْ ضللتم ضلالا بَعيدا. رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ
Hudhaifa said, “ If you Qur’an readers follow a straight course you will have attained great precedence; but if you go right and left you will have fallen into vast error.” Bukhari transmitted it.
وَعَنْ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ قَالَ: سُئِلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَا حَدُّ الْعِلْمِ الَّذِي إِذَا بَلَغَهُ الرَّجُلُ كَانَ فَقِيهًا؟ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «من حَفِظَ عَلَى أُمَّتِي أَرْبَعِينَ حَدِيثًا فِي أَمْرِ دِينِهَا بَعَثَهُ اللَّهُ فَقِيهًا وَكُنْتُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة شافعا وشهيدا»
Abu Darda’ told how God’s messenger, when asked how much a man had to learn to become a faqih , replied, “ If anyone preserves for my people forty traditions concerning their religion, God will raise him up in the next world as a faqih , and I shall be an intercessor and witness for him on the day of resurrection.”
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «تَعَوَّذُوا بِاللَّهِ مِنْ جُبِّ الْحَزَنِ» قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا جُبُّ الْحَزَنِ؟ قَالَ: «وَادٍ فِي جَهَنَّمَ تَتَعَوَّذُ مِنْهُ جَهَنَّم كل يَوْم أَرْبَعمِائَة مرّة» . قُلْنَا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ يَدْخُلُهَا قَالَ: «الْقُرَّاءُ الْمُرَاءُونَ بِأَعْمَالِهِمْ» . رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَكَذَا ابْنُ مَاجَهْ وَزَادَ فِيهِ: «وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَبْغَضِ الْقُرَّاءِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى الَّذِينَ يَزُورُونَ الْأُمَرَاءَ» . قَالَ الْمُحَارِبِيُّ: يَعْنِي الجورة
Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying, “Seek refuge in God from the pit of sorrow.” On being asked what the pit of sorrow was, he replied, “ It is a wadi in jahannam from which jahannam seeks refuge four hundred times every day.” When God’s messenger was asked who would enter it, he replied, “The Qur’an readers who are ostentatious in what they do.” Tirmidhi transmitted it, and Ibn Majah has the same, adding in it, “Among the Qur’an readers who are most hateful to God are those who visit princes.” Al-Muharibi said that he meant tyrants.
وَعَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «هَلْ تَدْرُونَ مَنْ أَجْوَدُ جُودًا؟» قَالُوا: اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَعْلَمُ. قَالَ: «اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَجْوَدُ جُودًا ثُمَّ أَنَا أَجْوَدُ بَنِي آدَمَ وَأَجْوَدُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِي رَجُلٌ عَلِمَ عِلْمًا فَنَشَرَهُ يَأْتِي يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَمِيرًا وَحده أَو قَالَ أمة وَحده»
Anas b. Malik said that God’s messenger asked, “Do you know who is most generous?” On receiving the reply that God and His messenger knew best, he said, “God is the most generous, then I am the most generous of mankind, and the most generous of them after me will be a man who acquires knowledge and spreads it. On the day of resurrection he will come as a prince alone.” Or he said, “As one people.”
وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ لَا يَبْقَى مِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ إِلَّا اسْمُهُ وَلَا يَبْقَى مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ إِلَّا رَسْمُهُ مَسَاجِدُهُمْ عَامِرَةٌ وَهِيَ خَرَابٌ مِنَ الْهُدَى عُلَمَاؤُهُمْ شَرُّ مَنْ تَحْتَ أَدِيمِ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ عِنْدِهِمْ تَخْرُجُ الْفِتْنَةُ وَفِيهِمْ تَعُودُ» . رَوَاهُ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ فِي شُعَبِ الْإِيمَان
‘Ali reported God’s messenger as saying, “ A time is soon coming to mankind when nothing of Islam but its name will remain and only the written form of the Qur’an will remain. Their mosques will be in fine condition but will be devoid of guidance, their learned men will be the worst people under heaven, corruption coming forth from them and returning among them.” Baihaqi transmitted it in Shu’ab al-iman .
وَعَنْهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: ” مَنْهُومَانِ لَا يَشْبَعَانِ: مَنْهُومٌ فِي الْعِلْمِ لَا يَشْبَعُ مِنْهُ وَمَنْهُومٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا لَا يَشْبَعُ مِنْهَا «. رَوَى الْبَيْهَقِيُّ الْأَحَادِيثَ الثَّلَاثَةَ فِي» شُعَبِ الْإِيمَانِ ” وَقَالَ: قَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ فِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي الدَّرْدَاءِ: هَذَا مَتْنٌ مَشْهُورٌ فِيمَا بَين النَّاس وَلَيْسَ لَهُ إِسْنَاد صَحِيح
He also reported the Prophet as saying, “Two greedy ones never attain satisfaction: he who is greedy for knowledge can never get enough of it, and he who is greedy for worldly goods can never get enough of them.” Baihaqi transmitted the three traditions in Shu’ab al-iman , and quoted the imam Ahmad as saying about Abu Darda”s tradition, “This is a well-known text among the people, but it does not have a sound isnad .”
عَن عَوْنٍ قَالَ: قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: مَنْهُومَانِ لَا يَشْبَعَانِ صَاحِبُ الْعِلْمِ وَصَاحِبُ الدُّنْيَا وَلَا يَسْتَوِيَانِ أَمَّا صَاحِبُ الْعِلْمِ فَيَزْدَادُ رِضًى لِلرَّحْمَنِ وَأَمَّا صَاحِبُ الدُّنْيَا فَيَتَمَادَى فِي الطُّغْيَانِ. ثُمَّ قَرَأَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ (كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَى) قَالَ وَقَالَ الْآخَرُ (إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عباده الْعلمَاء. رَوَاهُ الدَّارمِيّ
‘Aun reported Ibn Mas’ud as saying, “Two greedy ones never attain satisfaction, the learned man and the worldly man, but they are not equal. The learned man becomes more pleasing to the Compassionate One, but the worldly man perseveres in transgression.” Then ‘Abdallah [ibn Mas’ud] recited, “Nay, but man transgresses in considering that he is self-sufficient. “* He added, “The other is preferable, for ‘only those of His servants who are learned fear God.’ ” [Ibid, xxxv, 28.] Darimi transmitted it. *Qur’an, xcvi, 6 f.