Sunan ad-Darimi

Abu Muslim Khawlani, may Allah have mercy on him, said: There are three types of scholars. One is the person who lives by knowledge and others also live with him in knowledge. The second is the person who himself remains in the world of knowledge but no one else is with him. The third is the person from whose knowledge people benefit, but (he himself does not act upon it); knowledge will be a burden upon him.

It is narrated from Ata bin Abi Rabah that Musa (peace be upon him) said: O Lord! Who among Your servants is the wisest and most discerning? He said: The one who judges for people the same as he judges for himself. He asked: O Lord! Who among Your servants is the richest? He said: The one who is most content with his share. He asked: O Lord! Who among Your servants is the most fearful (of You)? He said: The one who has the most knowledge about Me.

Sufyan (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is said that scholars are of three types: One who possesses knowledge of Allah, fears Allah, but is ignorant of Allah’s command. The second is one who knows Allah, knows Allah’s command, and also fears Allah; he is the complete scholar (of religion). The third is one who knows Allah’s command but does not know Allah nor fears Him; he is a sinful scholar.

It is narrated from Imam Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, that knowledge is of two types: the knowledge that settles in the heart, this is beneficial knowledge; the other knowledge (which remains) only on the tongue, then this knowledge is an argument from Allah against the son of Adam.

Hasan (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated from the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) a narration similar to the above-mentioned text.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Acquire knowledge, acquire knowledge, and when you have acquired knowledge, then act upon it.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Whoever seeks knowledge for four things will enter Hell. Or he said a similar statement (these things are): to boast over the scholars with that knowledge, or to argue with foolish ignorant people through it, or to turn the faces (hearts) of people towards himself with it, or to gain something from the rulers through that knowledge.

Hisham Dastawai’s student said: I read in a book, I was informed that this is the saying of ‘Isa (peace be upon him): You work for the world and you are provided sustenance in this world without any deeds. And you do not act for the Hereafter, even though in the Hereafter you will be given sustenance only in exchange for deeds. The evil scholars are your ruin; you take wages and waste your deeds. Soon the Lord (of deeds) will demand His work from you, and soon you will leave this vast world and proceed towards the dark and narrow grave. Allah Almighty forbids you from sins just as He commands you to perform prayer and fasting. How can a man be among the people of knowledge who is displeased with his sustenance and considers his status insignificant, even though he knows that it is from the knowledge and power of Allah Almighty? How can a man be among the people of knowledge who blames Allah for what He has decreed for him, and is not content with what he has received from Allah? How can a man be among the people of knowledge for whom this world is weightier than the Hereafter and he desires the world more? How can a man be among the scholars whose abode is the Hereafter but he remains inclined towards the world, and desires more that which harms him, or loves more that which benefits him less? How can he be among the people of knowledge who seeks knowledge in order to spread it but does not seek knowledge for the sake of acting upon it?

Habib bin Ubaid said: It is said, "Learn knowledge and benefit from it, and do not acquire knowledge for the sake of adornment. If you live long, it is likely (that you will see) a scholar seeking beauty from his knowledge just as a cloth seller seeks adornment from cloth."

Ahwas bin Hakim narrated from his father that a man asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about evil, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Do not ask me about evil (badness), rather ask me about goodness." He said this three times, then said: "Beware! The greatest evil and harm is the evil of the scholars, and the greatest goodness is the goodness of the scholars."

Isa said: I heard Imam Sha’bi, may Allah have mercy on him, say: Only a person who possesses two qualities will seek this knowledge: intelligence and worship. If he is devoted in worship but not intelligent, he will say: Only intelligent people can acquire this (knowledge), and he will abandon its pursuit. And if he is intelligent but not devoted in worship, he will say: Only worshippers can acquire this thing, so he will abandon its pursuit. Imam Sha’bi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: I fear that those who are seeking knowledge today may not possess either of these two qualities—neither intelligence nor devotion in worship.

Abu Asim said that Sufyan, expressing his opinion, stated: A man used to worship for forty years first, then he would set out in search and pursuit of knowledge.

Mak’hool (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Whoever seeks knowledge in order to argue and dispute with the ignorant and foolish, and to boast before the scholars, and to turn people’s hearts towards himself through it, then he will be in the fire of Hell.

Makhul (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever seeks knowledge in order to boast before the scholars, argue with the foolish, or attract people's hearts towards himself, Allah will admit him into Hell."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: A person's words are remembered in proportion to the sincerity of his intention.

Qasim said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said to me: I think that when a man possesses knowledge, then because of the sin he commits, he forgets that knowledge.

Shahr bin Hawshab said: It has reached us that Luqman the Wise used to say to his son: O my son! Do not learn knowledge in order to boast over the scholars, or to argue with the foolish, or to show off in gatherings through it. And do not abandon knowledge out of lack of interest, nor incline towards ignorance. O my son! Carefully choose the gatherings you attend. So when you see a group remembering Allah, sit with them, for if you are knowledgeable, your knowledge will benefit you, and if you are ignorant, they will teach you, and it may be that Allah bestows His mercy upon them and you receive a share of that mercy. And if you see a group heedless of the remembrance of Allah, do not sit with them, for if you are knowledgeable, your knowledge will not benefit you, and if you are ignorant, they will increase you in helplessness, and it may be that Allah sends punishment upon them and you also taste a portion of it.

Kathir bin Murrah said: Do not mention falsehood to the wise (intelligent), they will begin to hate you; and do not speak words of wisdom to the foolish (ignorant), they will belie you. Do not conceal knowledge from those who are worthy of it, otherwise you will be sinful; and do not teach knowledge to those who are unworthy, they will consider you ignorant. Your knowledge has a right over you just as your wealth has a right over you.

Abu Farwah narrated that Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon them) used to say: Do not withhold knowledge from those who are worthy of it, for you will become sinful, and do not spread knowledge among those who are unworthy, lest you be made ignorant. Be gentle physicians who place medicine where it will be beneficial.

Mutarrif said: Do not feed your food to a person who has no appetite for it.

Dawud bin Sabur heard Shahr bin Hawshab say: Luqman (peace be upon him) said to his son: O my son! Do not learn knowledge in order to show off with it, and do not abandon knowledge out of disinterest and inclination towards ignorance. And when you see a group remembering Allah, sit with them; if you are knowledgeable, your knowledge will benefit you, and if you are ignorant, they will make you aware. And it may be that Allah casts a merciful glance upon them and you also receive a share of it with them. And if you see a group who are heedless of Allah's remembrance, do not sit with them, for even if you have knowledge, your knowledge will not benefit you, and if you are ignorant, they will only increase you in misguidance or helplessness. And it may be that Allah turns towards them in anger, and you also become included in that anger.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O seekers of knowledge! Act upon it, for indeed the true scholar is the one who acts according to his knowledge, and whose knowledge and actions are in agreement. Soon there will be people who will carry knowledge, but that knowledge will not go below their throats. Their actions will be contrary to their knowledge, and their inner state will be different from their outward appearance. They sit in gatherings and boast to one another, so much so that if a man leaves his companion and sits with someone else, he becomes angry. These are the people whose deeds do not ascend from their gatherings to Allah Almighty.

Masruq (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It is sufficient knowledge for a man that he fears Allah, and it is sufficient ignorance for a man that he is arrogant about his knowledge.

Muawiyah bin Qurrah, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If any nation from among the other nations were to follow the least scholar of this Ummah, that nation would become rightly guided.

Imam Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If a man attains a door of knowledge and acts upon it, then this is better for him than the world and whatever is in it. If he possesses the world, he should set it aside for the Hereafter.

Imam Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: (Among the predecessors) when a man would seek knowledge, its effect would be seen in his eyes, humility, tongue, hands, prayer, and asceticism.

Imam Muhammad bin Sirin, may Allah have mercy on him, said: See from whom you take this hadith, for indeed this is your religion.

Bishr bin Hakam reported that I heard Sufyan, may Allah have mercy on him, say: Whoever increases his desire for the world along with an increase in knowledge, he only increases in distance from Allah Almighty.

Hassan said: The more a person advances in divine knowledge, the closer people will be to him because of Allah’s mercy.

And Hassan said in another hadith: Whenever a servant increases in knowledge, he becomes correct in intention, and Allah Almighty has not placed any collar upon a servant better than tranquility and contentment.

Umairah said: A man said to his son: Go and acquire knowledge. The boy went out and disappeared. Then when he returned, he narrated some hadiths to his father. The father said: Go, my son, (still) seek knowledge. He remained absent for some time, then returned with some books and papers and read them to his father. The father said to him: This is blackness on whiteness; now go and learn knowledge. So he went away from them again, then returned and said to his father: Father! Now ask me whatever you wish. His father said: If you pass by a man who praises you and another man who finds faults in you, what is your opinion about this? The boy replied: In such a case, I will neither blame the one who finds faults nor praise the one who praises. The father said: If you see a page, what will you do? Abu Shurayh said: I do not know whether he said a page of gold or a page of silver—if you see it, what will you do? He said: I will neither pick it up nor go near it. The father said: Go, now you have become a scholar.

Sakan bin Umair said: I heard Wahb bin Munabbih, may Allah have mercy on him, say: "My son! Adhere to wisdom, for indeed all goodness is in wisdom. It is wisdom that grants honor to the young over the old and to the slave over the free. It increases the nobility of the master and seats the poor in the place of kings."

Sayyiduna Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) said: If it were not for the instructions of the scholars, we would be nothing.