Al-Matalib al-'Aliyah 3097 — Encouraging and urging the pursuit

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) narrated a blessed hadith in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The death of a scholar of the religion is a calamity that cannot be made good and a breach in the religion that cannot be filled; the scholar of the religion is like a shining star whose light has been extinguished; and the passing away of a whole tribe is easier and lighter than the death of one scholar."
This hadith is da'if (weak) due to the presence of an unnamed narrator in its chain; however, other authentic reports concerning the importance of knowledge and the void created by the death of scholars support its meaning.