Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal al-Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). At that time he was in the mosque, reclining against a red cloak of his. I said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! I have come to seek knowledge." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Welcome to the seeker of knowledge! The angels spread their wings for the one who seeks knowledge, and (so great are their numbers) that they are one above another until they reach the lowest heaven, out of their love for what (the student) is seeking." (Allamah al-Haythami says:) I say: Imam Abu Dawud and others have recorded a narration from this Companion other than this one (but its basic content is the same).
Al-Tabarani recorded it in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih.
Hadith Referenceمجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد / كتاب العلم / 550