Ibn Hibban

Kathir bin Qais narrates: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque of Damascus. A man came and said: O Sayyiduna Abu Darda’! I have come to you from the city of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask you about a hadith. I have learned that you narrate this hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Have you not come for any other purpose? Have you not come for trade? Have you come only for this hadith? He replied: Yes. So Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: “Whoever sets out on a path to seek knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him because of it, and the angels, pleased with the seeker of knowledge, spread their wings for him. Indeed, everything in the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, seek forgiveness for the scholar. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over all the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. The Prophets do not leave behind dinars or dirhams as inheritance; they leave behind knowledge. Whoever acquires it, acquires a great share.”

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) In this hadith, there is a clear statement that the virtue we have mentioned will be attained by those scholars who teach the knowledge of the Prophet (peace be upon him); it will not be attained by those who teach other sciences. Have you not reflected that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets.” So the Prophets only leave knowledge as inheritance, and the knowledge of our Prophet is his Sunnah. Whoever is deprived of its understanding will not be an heir of the Prophets.