Virtue of Knowledge
by Imam Ibn Rajab
Among that which indicates the preference of seeking knowledge over voluntary (nafil) worship is the fact that knowledge combines the virtues of all other acts of worship.
Knowledge is the best form of dhikr, as has been explained. lt is also the best form of jihad.
It is related from Abdullah ibn Amr and Numan ibn Bashir directly from the Prophet (SAWS), "The scholar's ink will be weighted against the martyr's blood and the scholar's ink will prove weightier. " Tirmidhi relates from Anas ibn Malik that the Prophet (SAWS) said, "Whoever treads the path of knowledge, he is in the way of Allah until he returns."
Another hadith relates, "lf death comes to the student he is a martyr."
Muadh ibn Jabal RA. relates:
Acquire knowledge because doing so is good. Seeking it is worship. Reviewing it is glorifying Allah. Researching it is jihad. Teaching it to the ignorant is charity. Serving the scholars is a way of drawing near to Allah because knowledge is the path of ascension to the stations of Paradise. It is a companion in isolation and a comrade in distant lands. It speaks to you in solitude. It is a guide to prosperity and a shield against adversity. It beautifies one among friends and is a weapon against enemies. With it Allah elevates people and makes them guides and bellwethers of good. The scholars are people whose words are sought and whose actions are imitated. The angels long for the scholars' company and comfort them with their wings. Everything, the fish of the sea, the beasts of the earth, the predators of the land and sea, and the cattle pray that blessings come upon them. This is because knowledge enlivens the heart against ignorance, illuminates the eyes against darkness, and strengthens the body. It transports the servant to the mansions of the select and the righteous and to the highest ranks in the world and in the Hereafter. Contemplating it is equivalent to fasting, and reviewing it is equivalent to the Night Prayer vigil. With it, kinship is united and the lawful is distinguished from the unlawful. knowledge is an imam which leads to righteous actions. lt is craved by the people destined for Paradise and shunned by people destined for Hell.
This hadith has also been related by Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet (SAWS).
Scholars and Worshippers
A well known narration exhorts us, "Be a scholar, a teacher, a listener, or one who loves them. Do not be in a fifth category and thereby be ruined." One of the righteous predecessors (Salaf) said, "Glory be to Allah who has made for the people a way out."
This means that whoever abandons any of the first four praiseworthy categories necessarily enters a fifth and is thus ruined. He is neither a scholar, a student, a Listener, nor one who loves scholars. He is therefore ruined.
The Full Moon, the Stars, and the Planets
The Prophet said, "The superiority of the scholar over the devout worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over the rest of the heavenly bodies." The meaning conveyed by this hadith has been related from the Prophet, by way of Muadh and Abu Darda with a broken chain of transmitters. This metaphor contains a comparison between the scholar and the full moon. The full moon represents the scholar, owing to the exquisite luminescence of its Light, while the planets represent devout worshippers. The difference in the radiance of the full moon and that of the planets represents the difference in virtue between the scholar and the devout worshipper. The underlying reason for this and Allah knows best is as follows: a planet's light does not extend beyond itself, whereas the light of the full moon shines upon the earth's inhabitants; they are illuminated by it and guided in their travels.
The Prophet mentioned the planets, not the stars, because the planets are not used for guidance [as much as the stars]. Hence, they have the status of the devout worshipper whose benefit is limited to himself. As for the stars, they are the heavenly bodies that are used for guidance, as Allah the Exalted says: And by the stars are {people} guided [through the land and sea] (Quran, 16:16). He also says, It is He who has set for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darkness of the land and sea (Quran, 6:97). In another hadith, the Prophet also compared the scholars of his nation to the stars.
It has been said that the moon derives its light from the sun, just as the scholar is a reflection of the light of the divine message. For this reason he has been compared to the moon and not the sun.
The Prophet was a lamp and a luminous moon which shone upon the earth. The scholars, as his heirs and successors, are compared to the bright and luminous full moon.
Righteous Scholars: the First to Enter Paradise
The Prophet narrates in a sound hadith, "The first contingent to enter Paradise will resemble the full moon; those entering after them resemble twinkling stars.'' It is not unreasonable to say and Allah knows best that the righteous scholars are among this first contingent because they occupied the status of the full moon in the world. They are joined by the distinguished believers, those whose anecdotes are remembered, hearts are softened when they are mentioned, and their words are sought. As for the second contingent, they are the ordinary believers.
When al-Awza'i died he was the imam of the Syrians in knowledge and was intensely fearful of Allah, a person saw him in a dream saying, "I haven't seen anything in Paradise greater than the rank of the scholar and the righteous sober individuals who fear Allah."
The Virtue of Knowledge over Ordinary Worship
The hadith of Abu Darda clearly indicates the preference of knowledge over ordinary worship. There is much evidence for this position. Allah says, Are they equal those who know and those who know not? (Quran, 39:9). He also says, Allah elevates in degrees those who believe among you and those possessing knowledge (Quran, 58:11). Ibn Masud and others among the righteous forbears have explained this to mean that Allah raises those endowed with knowledge degrees above the unlearned believers.
Tirmidhi relates from Abu Umama that two men were mentioned to the Prophet one of them a devout worshipper and the other a scholar. The Prophet said, "The virtue of the scholar over the devout worshipper is like my virtue over the lowest of you."
Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah relate a hadith from Ibn Abbas who related that the Prophet said, A single knowledgeable believer is harder on Satan than a thousand devout worshippers."
Ibn Majah relates that Abdallah ibn Amr said:
The Messenger of Allah emerged one day and entered the Masjid. He found before him two gatherings. One engaged in Quranic recitation and invoking Allah, the other in scholarly discourse. The Prophet said, "In each group there is good. These are reciting the Quran and invoking Allah. If He wills He will grant their request, and if He wills He will withhold it. These are engaged in scholarly discourse, and I have been sent as a teacher." He then sat with the latter.
Ibn al-Mubarak, after relating this hadith in Kitab al-Zuhd, adds, "The [latter] are better."
Tabarani relates from Abdallah ibn Umar from the Prophet "A little knowledge is better than abundant worship." Bazzar, Hakim, and others relate from the Prophet on the basis of numerous chains, "Copious knowledge is more beloved to Allah than copious worship, and scrupulousness is the best thing for your religion." Zuhri - attributes the following saying to the Prophet, "The scholar is seventy degrees more virtuous than the devout worshipper. Between each two degrees is a distance that would take a swift horse a hundred years to traverse."
The narrations from the righteous forbears on this subject are quite numerous. For example, it is related from Abu Hurayrah and Abu Dharr, "The least amount of sound knowledge is more beloved to us than a thousand units [Rakah] of voluntary Prayer."
Ibn Majah states that Abu Dharr related this directly from the Prophet. Abu Darda said, "Studying religious knowledge for an hour is better than spending a night in Prayer." It is related from Abu Hurayrah from the Prophet, "[Attaining religious knowledge] is more beloved to me than standing the entire night in Prayer. "
Abu Hurayrah also said, "Knowing a ruling relating to a command or prohibition is more beloved to me than [fighting] seventy battles in the way of Allah. "
lbn Abbas said, "Studying part of the night is more beloved to me than spending its entirety in Prayer." Abu Musa al-Ashari said, "Studying with Abdallah ibn Masud is better for my soul than a year of worship.
Hasan al-Basri said, "Learning an aspect of knowledge and teaching it to a Muslim is more beloved to me than possessing the entire world and using it in the way of Allah." He said on another occasion, "If a man correctly learns an aspect of knowledge and acts upon it, it is better for him than the entire world; even if he were given the world and used it all toward the Hereafter." He also said, "The ink of the scholars and the blood of the martyrs flow in a single stream." He said, "Nothing which Allah has created is greater, in terms of its reward, than seeking knowledge, neither Hajj nor Umrah [Lesser Pilgrimage], nor Jihad, nor Zakat, nor emancipating slaves. If knowledge had a physical image it would be more beautiful than the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, and a magnificent throne."
Al-Zuhri said, "[Seeking knowledge] is better that the worship of two hundred years." Sufyan al-Thawri and Abu Hanifah said, "There is nothing after obligatory worship better than seeking knowledge.'" Sufyan also said, "We know of no action better than seeking knowledge and hadith, if one does so with a good intention." He was asked, "What should his intention be?" He said, "He should desire Allah and Paradise."
Al-Shafi said, "Seeking knowledge is better than voluntary Prayer." Imam Malik saw one of his students recording knowledge. The student abandoned his writing and stood up to perform a non-obligatory Prayer. Thereupon, Imam Malik said, "I'm surprised at you! That which you stood for is not better than what you abandoned."
Imam Ahmad was asked, "What do you consider better, that I spend the night in voluntary Prayer or that I record knowledge?" He replied, "That you record what you know of your religion is more be loved to me." He also said, "Nothing is equivalent to knowledge." Muafi ibn lmran said, "Writing a single hadith is more beloved to me than spending a night in Prayer."
Extracted from 'The Heirs of the Prophets' of Imam Ibn Rajab (RA), translated by Imam Zaid Shakir.