Musnad Ahmad

Qais bin Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) says that a man from Madinah Munawwarah came to Hazrat Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) in Damascus. He asked the visitor, "Brother! What brings you here?" He replied, "To learn a hadith about which I have come to know that you narrate it from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." He asked, "Have you not come for any trade?" He said, "No." He asked, "For any other work?" He said, "No." He asked, "Have you come only to seek this hadith?" He said, "Yes." He said, "I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever sets out on a path to seek knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him, and the angels spread their wings in pleasure for the seeker of knowledge, and all the creatures in the heavens and the earth pray for forgiveness for the scholar. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon over the rest of the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets do not leave behind dinars or dirhams as inheritance, but they leave behind knowledge. So whoever acquires it, has acquired a great share."