Sunan ad-Darimi

Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We were with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he looked up towards the sky, then said: "This is such a time that knowledge is being taken away from people until they will not be able to do anything of it." Ziyad bin Labid Al-Ansari said: "O Messenger of Allah! How will knowledge be taken away from us when we have read the Qur'an, and by Allah, we will surely read it and teach it to our women and children." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Ziyad! May your mother lose you! I used to count you among the intelligent people of Madinah. This Torah and Gospel are with the Jews and Christians, but what benefit do they get from them?" Jubair said: I met Sayyiduna Ubadah bin Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) and I said: "Have you heard the words of your brother Abu Darda?" and I mentioned his statement. He replied: "Abu Darda has spoken the truth. If you wish, I will tell you the first thing to be taken away from the people along with knowledge: it is humility (khushu'). Soon a time will come when you will enter the mosque and you will not see a single person with humility in it."

Makhul narrated that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The superiority of a scholar over a worshipper is like my superiority over the lowest among you." Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited this noble verse: «﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ...﴾» [فاطر: 28/35] "Only those of His servants fear Allah who have knowledge." Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, Allah, His angels, all the inhabitants of the earth and the heavens, even the fish in the sea, pray for good for those who teach people goodness."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: A person cannot become a scholar until he does not envy one who is above him, does not consider one who is below him as insignificant, and does not seek compensation for his knowledge.

It is narrated from Mas'ar: I heard Abdul-A'la al-Taimi say: Whoever is given such knowledge that does not make him weep, it is appropriate for him not to be given such knowledge that would benefit him, because Allah Almighty has praised the scholars. Then he recited: «﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ (إلي قوله تعالٰي) يَبْكُونَ ....﴾» [الإسراء: 107/17-109] "Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, they fall upon their chins in prostration and say, 'Glory be to our Lord! Surely the promise of our Lord is ever fulfilled.' And they fall upon their chins weeping, and it increases them in humility."

Abu Hazim said: You cannot become a scholar until three qualities are found in you: do not oppress those who are above you, do not consider those with less knowledge than you as insignificant, and do not sell your knowledge for worldly gain.

Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said: You cannot become a scholar until you are a learner, and you cannot be a scholar until you act upon this knowledge. And it is sufficient sin for you that you are quarrelsome; it is sufficient for your sin that you are arrogant; and it is sufficient for your being a liar that you keep making statements about anything other than Allah’s essence.

Imran Munqari said: One day I asked Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) about something he had said, "O Abu Sa'id! The jurists do not say this way." He replied: "Woe to you, have you ever seen a jurist? A jurist is one who withdraws from the world, inclines towards the Hereafter, has insight in matters of religion, and remains steadfast in the worship of his Lord."

Sa‘d bin Ibrahim was asked: Who is the greatest jurist among the people of Madinah? He replied: The one who fears his Lord the most.

Mujahid said: The greatest jurist is the one who fears Allah Almighty.

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The true jurist is the one who does not make people despair of Allah’s mercy, does not permit them to disobey Allah, does not make them feel secure from Allah’s punishment, and does not turn them away from the Qur’an. Indeed, there is nothing in worship without knowledge and insight, and any knowledge without understanding is not knowledge, nor is that recitation truly recitation in which there is no reflection (thought and contemplation).

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Truly, the real jurist is the one who does not make people despair of Allah’s mercy, nor does he make them feel secure from Allah’s punishment, nor does he permit them to disobey Allah. There is no good in worship in which there is no knowledge, and there is no good in knowledge in which there is no understanding, and there is no good in recitation in which there is no reflection.

Ka‘b (al-Ahbar) said: In the earlier scriptures, I find the description of a people who will seek knowledge without action, and will learn jurisprudence for purposes other than worship, and will seek the world in exchange for deeds of the Hereafter, who will wear sheepskins, whose hearts will be more bitter than aloes, they will deceive through me and will deceive me myself, I have sworn that I will raise such a trial among them that even the forbearing and patient will be astonished.

Harm bin Hayan said: Beware of a sinful scholar. When this news reached Sayyiduna Umar bin Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), he wrote to him, and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became concerned about it. He asked, "What do you mean by a sinful scholar?" Harm replied: "By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful! I only meant good by it. There is such an imam who speaks words of knowledge but acts with sin and immorality, and he puts people into doubt, so they go astray."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever among you wishes to honor his religion should not go to the ruler, should not be alone with women, and should not argue with the slaves of desire.

Yunus (bin Ubaid) said that Maymun bin Mihran wrote to me: Avoid dispute and argumentation in religion, and do not quarrel with anyone, whether learned or ignorant. Do not quarrel with the learned, because he will withhold his knowledge from you and will not care about what you have done. And do not quarrel with the ignorant, because he will become angry with you and will abandon obeying you.

It is narrated from Yahya bin Abi Kathir that Sulaiman bin Dawood (peace be upon them) said to his son: "Abandon disputing, for there is little benefit in it, and it stirs up enmity between brothers."

Ismail bin Abi Hakim said: I heard Umar bin Abdul Aziz saying: Whoever makes his religion a target of disputes, his instability will increase.

Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, wrote to the people of Madinah that whoever worships without knowledge (or isolates himself for worship) will spread more corruption than reform, and whoever compares his speech to his actions, his speech will become limited to necessity, and whoever makes his religion a target of disputes, his inconsistency will increase.

It is narrated from Ja'far bin Burqan that someone asked Umar bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, about desires, so he replied: Adhere to the religion of the Bedouin and the slave, and forget whatever is besides that. Imam Darimi said: By «كثر تنقله» is meant: moving from one opinion to another opinion.