Sunan ad-Darimi

Ibrahim bin Maisarah said that Mujahid saw Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) in a dream, that he was praying in the Ka'bah with a veil on his face, and the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) was standing at the door of the Ka'bah and saying: O servant of Allah! Remove your veil, and recite aloud (i.e., narrate the hadith openly). Ibrahim said: He interpreted this as referring to knowledge, and after that, he happily began to narrate hadith.

Ka'b said: The world is accursed and whatever is in it is also accursed, except for one who learns goodness and one who teaches it.

Khalid bin Ma'dan said: People are either scholars or learners, and those who are between them are base people, in whom there is no good.

Hisham narrated that Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The people used to say that the death of a scholar is a breach in Islam which nothing can ever fill until the end of the world.

Wahb bin Munabbih said: In my view, a gathering in which there is discussion about knowledge is more beloved and preferable to me than an equivalent amount of prayer, because perhaps someone may hear a word from it that will benefit him for a year or for the rest of his life.

Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I do not know of any deed better for a person whom Allah wishes good for than acquiring knowledge and memorizing it.

Hasan bin Salih said: Surely, people will be in need of this knowledge in their religious matters just as they are in need of food and drink in their worldly life.

Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Acquire knowledge before it is taken away, for indeed the taking away of knowledge is the disappearance (passing away) of the scholars. Surely, the scholar and the learner (student) are equal in reward.

It is narrated from Dahhak (may Allah have mercy on him) that the meaning of the noble verse: «﴿وَلَكِنْ كُونُوا رَبَّانِيِّينَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ الْكِتَابَ ....﴾» [آل عمران: 79/3] is that whoever recites the Qur'an, it is obligatory upon him to become a jurist (i.e., a learned scholar of Allah).

Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the commentary of this verse: «﴿لَوْلَا يَنْهَاهُمُ الرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالْأَحْبَارُ ....﴾» [المائدة: 63/5] "Why do not their devout and learned men forbid them" that by «الربانيون» is meant the wise and the scholars.

Saeed bin Jubair, may Allah have mercy on him, said about «كونوا ربانيين» (Become all of you for the Lord) that by «ربانيين» is meant the scholars and jurists.

Ubaidullah bin Saeed said: I heard Sufyan bin Uyaynah say: Knowledge means memorization, practice, listening, silence, and conveying.

Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The most ignorant among the people is the one who abandons knowledge despite having it (i.e., neither acts upon it nor conveys it), and the greatest scholar is the one who acts according to his knowledge, and the best among the people is the one who has the most fear of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic.

Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Two types of greedy people are never satisfied: one who is greedy for knowledge, who is never satiated with knowledge, and the other who desires the world, who is never satiated with worldly things. So, whoever’s concern, intention, preoccupation, desire, and remembrance is all for the Hereafter, Allah will suffice him in all his affairs and work, and will place richness in his heart. And whoever’s concern, desire, and love is for the world, Allah will scatter his affairs, and will write poverty and need between his two eyes, so that he will be poor in the morning and poor in the evening.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Two greedy men are never satisfied: one who possesses knowledge and the other who seeks the world, and both can never be equal. The possessor of knowledge increases in Allah’s pleasure, while the seeker of the world wanders about in rebellion and transgression. Then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) recited this verse: « ﴿كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى ٭ أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَى﴾ » [العلق: 6/96، 7] “Indeed, man surely transgresses, because he sees himself self-sufficient (or wealthy).” Sayyiduna Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Someone else said: «﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ ...﴾» [فاطر: 28/35] “Indeed, only Allah’s knowledgeable servants fear Him.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them): «﴿إِنَّمَا يَخْشَى اللَّهَ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ الْعُلَمَاءُ﴾» [فاطر: 28/35] Whoever fears Allah is a scholar. Two greedy people are never satisfied: the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of the world.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Two eager (greedy) persons are never satisfied: the seeker of knowledge and the seeker of the world.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Wathilah bin Asqa’ (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever sought knowledge and also acquired it, for him is a double reward, and if he could not acquire knowledge, then even so, for him is a single portion of reward.”

Abbas Al-‘Ami said: It has reached me that Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him) used to say in his supplication: O Allah! You are free from all defects, You are my Lord, You are manifest above the Throne, and You have placed Your fear in those who are in the heavens and the earth. So, among Your creation, the one closest to You in rank and status is the one who fears You the most, and what kind of knowledge is it that does not fear You, and what kind of wisdom is it that does not follow Your command?

It is narrated from Dhahhak (may Allah have mercy on him) that Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Either become a scholar or a learner, and there is no good in anyone other than these two.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Soon there will be so many tribulations that a person will be a believer in the morning and become a disbeliever by evening, except for the one whom Allah keeps alive with knowledge."

Harun bin Rabab said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say: "Become a scholar or a learner, and do not be among those in between, for those in between are ignorant. Indeed, the angels, pleased with the action of a person who sets out to seek knowledge, spread their wings for him."

Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was asked from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about two men from the Children of Israel. One of them was a scholar who would pray and then sit and teach people goodness, and the other was a man who would fast during the day and stand in prayer at night. Which of these two is superior?
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The superiority of the scholar who prays and then sits and teaches people goodness over the worshipper who fasts during the day and stands in prayer at night is like my superiority over the least of you."

Imam Ibn Sirin, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I entered the mosque (and saw) that Aswad bin Sari’ was narrating stories, and Humaid bin Abdur Rahman was engaged in scholarly discussion in a corner of the mosque. I was hesitant about which gathering to join. I became drowsy, and someone came and said: Are you hesitant about where to sit? If you wish, I can show you the place where Jibreel (peace be upon him) sits in the gathering of Humaid bin Abdur Rahman.

Kathir bin Qais said: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque of Damascus when a man came to him and said: O Abu Darda’! I have come to you from Madinat al-Rasul (the city of the Messenger, peace be upon him) for the sake of a hadith which I have been informed that you narrate from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Have you come for trade? He said: No. He said: Has anything else brought you here? He said: No. He said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: “Whoever sets out on a path seeking knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him because of it. And indeed, the angels, being pleased with the seeker of knowledge, lower their wings for him. And indeed, those in the heavens and the earth seek forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in the water seek forgiveness for him. And indeed, the superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon over all the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets did not leave behind dinars or dirhams as inheritance, but rather they left behind knowledge. So whoever acquires it has acquired a great share or an abundant share.”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Everything seeks forgiveness for the one who teaches goodness, even the fish in the sea.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever treads a path in search of knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him through it, and whoever is slowed down by his deeds, his lineage will not speed him up."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: No person sets out on a path in search of knowledge except that Allah Almighty makes the path to Paradise easy for him through it, and whoever is delayed by his deeds, his deeds will not hasten him forward.

Matar al-Warraq said: The noble verse: «﴿وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ﴾» [القمر: 17/54] means: There is a seeker of good who is to be aided and helped.

It is narrated from Marwan that Dumrah said: By this «(مُدَّكِّر)» is meant a student of knowledge.

It is narrated from ‘Amir bin Ibrahim that when Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) saw the seekers of knowledge, he would say «مرحبا بطلبة العلم» “Welcome to the seekers of knowledge,” and he would say: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) made a bequest regarding you.”

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) passed by two circles in his mosque and said: "Both are upon goodness, but one gathering is superior to the other. One group of people is supplicating and beseeching Allah Almighty; if He wills, He grants them, and if He wills, He withholds from them. The other group is learning knowledge and understanding of religion and teaching the ignorant, so they are superior. And I too have been sent as a teacher." The narrator said: Then he (the Prophet) also sat with them.

Mutarrif bin Abdullah al-Shakhir said to his son: Son! Knowledge is better than action.

Shurahbil bin Sharik heard Abu Abdur Rahman Hubli saying: There is no gift better that you give to your brother than the gift of a word of wisdom.

Imam Zuhri, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The superiority of a scholar over a mujtahid is a hundred degrees, and between each two degrees is a distance of five hundred years covered by swift, well-trained horses. (A "muzzammar" is a horse that is prepared for racing.)

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both): By «﴿يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ ....﴾» [المجادلة: 11/58] is meant those people of knowledge whose ranks Allah Almighty will raise above the believers.

Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a person dies while seeking knowledge for the revival of Islam, then there will be only one rank of difference between him and the Prophets."

Amr bin Maymun (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took two-thirds of knowledge. Amr said this was mentioned to Ibrahim Nakha'i, so he said: Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) took nine out of ten parts of knowledge.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: Whenever people gather in one of the houses of Allah, recite (repeat) the Book of Allah, and teach it to others, the angels cover them with their wings until they become engaged in other matters. And whoever sets out on the path to acquire knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him. And whoever's deeds fall short, his lineage (family) will be of no benefit to him.

It is narrated from Dhirr that I went to Safwan bin Assal al-Muradi (because) I wanted to ask him about wiping over leather socks. He said: What has brought you to me? I said: The pursuit of knowledge. He said: Shall I not give you glad tidings? I said: Please do. So he narrated, attributing it to the Prophet (peace be upon him), that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Indeed, the angels spread their wings for the seeker of knowledge, being pleased with what he seeks."