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Vol 1 · p 9

Seeking knowledge; the excellence of teaching begins

Book 1 · Knowledge كتاب العلم

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The hadith on seeking knowledge end with five more: seeking knowledge is a duty on every Muslim, questions are the keys to knowledge, and whoever dies seeking knowledge is one rank below the prophets in Paradise (most of them with weak chains, al-ʿIrāqī notes). Then the Companions and those after them: Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū al-Dardāʾ, ʿUmar, al-Shāfiʿī and Mālik put learning above night prayer and voluntary worship. Then a new section, the excellence of teaching: verses that make teaching a duty and hiding knowledge a sin, and the Prophet's ﷺ words to Muʿādh: guiding one person is better than the whole world.

علم ڈھونڈنے کی حدیثیں پانچ اور حدیثوں پر ختم ہوتی ہیں: علم حاصل کرنا ہر مسلمان کی ذمہ داری ہے، سوال علم کی کنجی ہے، اور جو علم ڈھونڈتے ہوئے مرے وہ جنت میں نبیوں سے ایک درجہ نیچے ہوگا (عراقی بتاتے ہیں کہ ان میں سے اکثر کی سندیں کمزور ہیں)۔ پھر صحابہ اور بعد کے بزرگ: ابن عباس، ابو الدرداء، عمر، شافعی اور مالک سیکھنے کو رات کی نماز اور نفلی عبادت سے اوپر رکھتے ہیں۔ پھر نیا حصہ، سکھانے کی فضیلت: وہ آیتیں جو سکھانے کو فرض اور علم چھپانے کو گناہ بتاتی ہیں، اور نبی ﷺ کا معاذؓ سے فرمان: ایک آدمی کو راہ دکھا دینا ساری دنیا سے بہتر ہے۔

Key terms
  • الميثاقal-mīthāqa covenant, a pledge made firm
  • النافلةal-nāfilavoluntary worship, beyond what is obligatory
¶ 1 · continued from the previous page

ولو بالصين 1

…even if in China."1 (The end of the hadith begun on V1 p8 ¶14f: "Seek knowledge, even if in China.")

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم طلب العلم فريضة على كل مسلم

And he ﷺ said: "Seeking knowledge is an obligation (farīḍa) on every Muslim."

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم العلم خزائن مفاتيحها السؤال ألا فاسألوا فإنه يؤجر فيه أربعة السائل والعالم والمستمع والمحب لهم 2

And he ﷺ said: "Knowledge is storehouses, and their keys are asking. So ask! For four are rewarded in it: the one who asks, the one who knows, the one who listens, and the one who loves them."2

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم لا ينبغي للجاهل أن يسكت على جهله ولا للعالم أن يسكت على علمه 3

And he ﷺ said: "It is not right for the ignorant to keep silent about his ignorance, nor for the one who knows to keep silent about his knowledge."3

وفي حديث أبي ذر رضي الله عنه حضور مجلس عالم أفضل من صلاة ألف ركعة وعيادة ألف مريض وشهود ألف جنازة فقيل يا رسول الله ومن قراءة القرآن فقال صلى الله عليه وسلم وهل ينفع القرآن إلا بالعلم 4

And in the hadith of Abū Dharr (RA): "Attending the gathering of a scholar is better than praying a thousand rakʿas, visiting a thousand sick people and attending a thousand funerals." It was said: "O Messenger of Allah, and better than reciting the Quran?" He ﷺ said: "And does the Quran benefit except through knowledge?"4

وقال عليه الصلاة والسلام من جاءه الموت وهو يطلب العلم ليحيي به الإسلام فبينه وبين الأنبياء في الجنة درجة واحدة 5

And he, upon him be blessings and peace, said: "Whoever death comes to while he is seeking knowledge to bring Islam to life by it, between him and the prophets in Paradise there is a single degree."5

وأما الآثار فقال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما ذللت طالبا فعززت مطلوبا

As for the reports from the Companions and those after them (al-āthār): Ibn ʿAbbās (RA) said: "I was lowly as a seeker (ṭāliban), and so I became mighty as one sought (maṭlūban)."

¶ 2

وكذلك قال ابن أبي مليكة رحمه الله ما رأيت مثل ابن عباس إذا رأيته رأيت أحسن الناس وجها وإذا تكلم فأعرب الناس لسانا وإذا أفتى فأكثر الناس علما

And likewise Ibn Abī Mulayka, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "I have not seen anyone like Ibn ʿAbbās. When you saw him, you saw the most handsome of people in face; when he spoke, the clearest of people in speech; and when he gave a legal answer, the fullest of people in knowledge."

¶ 3

وقال ابن المبارك رحمه الله عجبت لمن لم يطلب العلم كيف تدعوه نفسه إلى مكرمة

And Ibn al-Mubārak, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "I wonder at one who does not seek knowledge: how does his self call him to anything noble?"

وقال بعض الحكماء إني لا أرحم رجالا كرحمتي لأحد رجلين رجل يطلب العلم ولا يفهم ورجل يفهم العلم ولا يطلبه

And one of the wise said: "I do not pity any men as I pity one of two men: a man who seeks knowledge and does not understand, and a man who understands knowledge and does not seek it."

¶ 4

وقال أبو الدرداء رضي الله عنه لأن أتعلم مسألة أحب إلي من قيام ليلة

And Abū al-Dardāʾ (RA) said: "That I learn one question (masʾala) is dearer to me than standing a night in prayer."

¶ 5

وقال أيضا كن عالما أو متعلما أو مستمعا ولا تكن الرابع فتهلك

And he also said: "Be one who knows, or one who learns, or one who listens; and do not be the fourth, or you will perish."

¶ 6

وقال عطاء مجلس علم يكفر سبعين مجلسا من مجالس اللهو

And ʿAṭāʾ said: "One gathering of knowledge wipes out seventy gatherings of idle amusement (al-lahw)."

¶ 7

وقال عمر رضي الله عنه موت ألف عابد قائم الليل صائم النهار أهون من موت عالم بصير بحلال الله وحرامه

And ʿUmar (RA) said: "The death of a thousand worshippers who stand the night in prayer and fast the day is lighter than the death of one scholar who sees clearly what Allah has made lawful and unlawful."

¶ 8

وقال الشافعي رضي الله عنه طلب العلم أفضل من النافلة

And al-Shāfiʿī (RA) said: "Seeking knowledge is better than voluntary worship (al-nāfila)."

¶ 9

وقال ابن عبد الحكم رحمه الله كنت عند مالك أقرأ عليه العلم فدخل الظهر فجمعت الكتب لأصلي فقال يا هذا ما الذي قمت إليه بأفضل مما كنت فيه إذا صحت النية

And Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "I was with Mālik, reading knowledge to him, when the time of the noon prayer came in, so I gathered up the books to pray. He said: 'You there, what you have stood up for is not better than what you were in, if the intention is sound.'"

¶ 10

وقال أبو الدرداء رضي الله عنه من رأى أن الغدو إلى طلب العلم ليس بجهاد فقد نقص في رأيه وعقله

And Abū al-Dardāʾ (RA) said: "Whoever thinks that going out in the morning to seek knowledge is not jihad has fallen short in his judgement and his intellect."

فضيلة التعليم

The excellence of teaching (al-taʿlīm)

¶ 11

أما الآيات فقوله عز وجل ﴿ولينذروا قومهم إذا رجعوا إليهم لعلهم يحذرون﴾ والمراد هو التعليم والإرشاد

As for the verses: His words, Mighty and Majestic: "…and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious" (9:122, Saheeh International). And what is meant is teaching (al-taʿlīm) and guiding (al-irshād).

¶ 12

وقوله تعالى ﴿وإذ أخذ الله ميثاق الذين أوتوا الكتاب ليبيننه للناس ولا يكتمونه﴾ وهو إيجاب للتعليم

And His words, Exalted is He: "And [mention], when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture, [saying], 'You must make it clear to the people and not conceal it'" (3:187, Saheeh International; the edition's wording says "they": see Open questions). And this makes teaching obligatory.

¶ 13

وقوله تعالى ﴿وإن فريقا منهم ليكتمون الحق وهم يعلمون﴾ وهو تحريم للكتمان كما قال تعالى في الشهادة ﴿ومن يكتمها فإنه آثم قلبه﴾

And His words, Exalted is He: "But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know [it]" (2:146, Saheeh International), and this forbids concealing, just as He, Exalted is He, said about testimony: "…whoever conceals it - his heart is indeed sinful" (2:283, Saheeh International).

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم ما آتى الله عالما علما إلا وأخذ عليه من الميثاق ما أخذ على النبيين أن يبينوه للناس ولا يكتموه 6

And he ﷺ said: "Allah has not given a scholar knowledge without taking from him, of the covenant, what He took from the prophets: that they make it clear to the people and do not conceal it."6

وقال تعالى ﴿ومن أحسن قولا ممن دعا إلى الله وعمل صالحا﴾ وقال تعالى ﴿ادع إلى سبيل ربك بالحكمة والموعظة الحسنة﴾ وقال تعالى ﴿ويعلمهم الكتاب والحكمة﴾

And He, Exalted is He, said: "And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness" (41:33, Saheeh International). And He, Exalted is He, said: "Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction" (16:125, Saheeh International). And He, Exalted is He, said: "…and teach them the Book and wisdom" (in 2:129, 3:164 and 62:2, Saheeh International).

وأما الأخبار فقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم لما بعث معاذا رضي الله عنه إلى اليمن لأن يهدي الله بك رجلا واحدا خير لك من الدنيا وما فيها 7

As for the reports (al-akhbār): his words ﷺ when he sent Muʿādh (RA) to Yemen: "That Allah guide through you a single man is better for you than the world and what is in it."7

Study this page · not Ghazali's text

Quran on this page7 ayat

¶11a ﴿ولينذروا قومهم إذا رجعوا إليهم لعلهم يحذرون﴾: the end of the ayah whose middle Ghazali quoted for learning on V1 p8 ¶14a.

وَمَا كَانَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا۟ كَآفَّةً فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا۟ فِى ٱلدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا۟ قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَ

And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once. For there should separate from every division of them a group [remaining] to obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious.

Surah At-Tawba (9), ayah 122 · Saheeh International

¶12a ﴿وإذ أخذ الله ميثاق الذين أوتوا الكتاب ليبيننه للناس ولا يكتمونه﴾: the start of the ayah. The brackets are the printed edition's (corrections list). Its wording, «ليبيننه … يكتمونه», "that they make it clear … and not conceal it", differs from the Tanzil text, «لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُۥ … تَكْتُمُونَهُۥ», "you must make it clear … and not conceal it", which Saheeh International translates: see Open questions.

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَٰقَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُۥ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَهُۥ فَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَآءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَٱشْتَرَوْا۟ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَبِئْسَ مَا يَشْتَرُونَ

And [mention, O Muhammad], when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Scripture, [saying], "You must make it clear to the people and not conceal it." But they threw it away behind their backs and exchanged it for a small price. And wretched is that which they purchased.

Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3), ayah 187 · Saheeh International

¶13a ﴿وإن فريقا منهم ليكتمون الحق وهم يعلمون﴾: the end of the ayah.

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ يَعْرِفُونَهُۥ كَمَا يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَآءَهُمْ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِّنْهُمْ لَيَكْتُمُونَ ٱلْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know [it].

Surah Al-Baqara (2), ayah 146 · Saheeh International

¶13a ﴿ومن يكتمها فإنه آثم قلبه﴾: from the ayah on debts and testimony; Ghazali says so himself, «في الشهادة».

وَإِن كُنتُمْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ وَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ كَاتِبًا فَرِهَٰنٌ مَّقْبُوضَةٌ فَإِنْ أَمِنَ بَعْضُكُم بَعْضًا فَلْيُؤَدِّ ٱلَّذِى ٱؤْتُمِنَ أَمَٰنَتَهُۥ وَلْيَتَّقِ ٱللَّهَ رَبَّهُۥ وَلَا تَكْتُمُوا۟ ٱلشَّهَٰدَةَ وَمَن يَكْتُمْهَا فَإِنَّهُۥٓ ءَاثِمٌ قَلْبُهُۥ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ

And if you are on a journey and cannot find a scribe, then a security deposit [should be] taken. And if one of you entrusts another, then let him who is entrusted discharge his trust [faithfully] and let him fear Allah, his Lord. And do not conceal testimony, for whoever conceals it - his heart is indeed sinful, and Allah is Knowing of what you do.

Surah Al-Baqara (2), ayah 283 · Saheeh International

¶13c ﴿ومن أحسن قولا ممن دعا إلى الله وعمل صالحا﴾: the ayah goes on.

وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ قَوْلًا مِّمَّن دَعَآ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحًا وَقَالَ إِنَّنِى مِنَ ٱلْمُسْلِمِينَ

And who is better in speech than one who invites to Allah and does righteousness and says, "Indeed, I am of the Muslims."

Surah Fussilat (41), ayah 33 · Saheeh International

¶13c ﴿ادع إلى سبيل ربك بالحكمة والموعظة الحسنة﴾: the start of the ayah.

ٱدْعُ إِلَىٰ سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِٱلْحِكْمَةِ وَٱلْمَوْعِظَةِ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ وَجَٰدِلْهُم بِٱلَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِۦ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction, and argue with them in a way that is best. Indeed, your Lord is most knowing of who has strayed from His way, and He is most knowing of who is [rightly] guided.

Surah An-Nahl (16), ayah 125 · Saheeh International

¶13c ﴿ويعلمهم الكتاب والحكمة﴾: these words are in three ayat, word for word, and Ghazali does not say which he means; all three are given. In each, the one who teaches is the Messenger.

رَبَّنَا وَٱبْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ وَٱلْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ

Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise."

Surah Al-Baqara (2), ayah 129 · Saheeh International

Hadith and al-ʿIrāqī's verdicts7 hadith
  1. 1

    حديث اطلبوا العلم ولو بالصين أخرجه ابن عدي والبيهقي في المدخل والشعب من حديث أنس وقال البيهقي متنه مشهور وأسانيده ضعيفة

    Recorded by Ibn ʿAdī, and by al-Bayhaqī in al-Madkhal and Shuʿab al-Īmān, from Anas (RA). Al-Bayhaqī said: its text is well known, and its chains are weak.

    In the nine books:

    not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).

  2. 2

    حديث العلم خزائن مفاتيحها السؤال الحديث رواه أبو نعيم من حديث علي مرفوعا بإسناد ضعيف

    Narrated by Abū Nuʿaym from ʿAlī (RA), from the Prophet ﷺ, with a weak chain.

    In the nine books:

    not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).

  3. 3

    حديث لا ينبغي للجاهل أن يسكت على جهله أخرجه الطبراني في الأوسط وابن مردويه في التفسير وابن السني وأبو نعيم في رياضة المتعلمين من حديث جابر بسند ضعيف

    Recorded by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Awsaṭ, Ibn Mardawayh in his Tafsīr, and Ibn al-Sunnī and Abū Nuʿaym in Riyāḍat al-Mutaʿallimīn, from Jābir (RA), with a weak chain.

    In the nine books:

    not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).

  4. 4

    حديث أبي ذر حضور مجلس علم أفضل من صلاة ألف ركعة الحديث ذكره ابن الجوزي في الموضوعات من حديث عمر ولم أجده من طريق أبي ذر

    Ibn al-Jawzī mentions it in al-Mawḍūʿāt, his book of fabricated reports, from ʿUmar (RA); al-ʿIrāqī did not find it by way of Abū Dharr.

    In the nine books:

    not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).

  5. 5

    حديث من جاءه الموت وهو يطلب العلم الحديث أخرجه الدارمي وابن السني في رياضة المتعلمين من حديث الحسن فقيل هو ابن علي وقيل هو ابن يسار البصري مرسلا

    Recorded by al-Dārimī, and by Ibn al-Sunnī in Riyāḍat al-Mutaʿallimīn, from al-Ḥasan: some say he is al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, and some say he is al-Ḥasan ibn Yasār al-Baṣrī, reporting it mursal (without naming the Companion he had it from).

    In the nine books:

    Sunan al-Darimi (cited by name), from al-Ḥasan, in the words «من جاءه الموت وهو يطلب العلم ليحيي به الإسلام فبينه وبين النبيين درجة واحدة في الجنة», "between him and the prophets there is a single degree in Paradise". The chain names only «عن الحسن».

  6. 6

    حديث ما آتى الله عالما علما إلا أخذ عليه من الميثاق ما أخذ على النبيين أن يبينوه للناس ولا يكتموه أخرجه أبو نعيم في فضل العالم العفيف من حديث ابن مسعود بنحوه وفي الخلعيات نحوه من حديث أبي هريرة

    Recorded by Abū Nuʿaym in Faḍl al-ʿĀlim al-ʿAfīf from Ibn Masʿūd (RA), in similar words; and something similar is in al-Khilaʿiyyāt from Abū Hurayra (RA).

    In the nine books:

    not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).

  7. 7

    حديث قال لمعاذ حين بعثه إلى اليمن لأن يهدي الله بك رجلا واحدا خير لك الحديث أخرجه أحمد من حديث معاذ وفي الصحيحين من حديث سهل ابن سعد أنه قال ذلك لعلي

    Recorded by Aḥmad from Muʿādh (RA); and in the two Sahihs (Bukhari and Muslim) from Sahl ibn Saʿd (RA): that he ﷺ said it to ʿAlī (RA).

    In the nine books:

    Sahih al-Bukhari 3009, 3701 and 4210; Sahih Muslim 2406; all from Sahl ibn Saʿd, said to ʿAlī on the day of Khaybar, in the words «فوالله لأن يهدي الله بك رجلا واحدا خير لك من أن يكون لك حمر النعم», "better for you than red camels". The collection's English (Muslim's report): "for, by Allah, if Allah guides aright even one person through you that is better for you than to possess the most valuable of the camels." Also Sunan Abi Dawud 3661, from Sahl, without the story: «والله لأن يهدى بهداك رجل واحد خير لك من حمر النعم». Aḥmad's report from Muʿādh is not in our copy of the Musnad, which is partial.

Words of the day3 words
Sentence breakdown

«طلب العلم فريضة على كل مسلم» (¶1b). Vowelled, as we read it: طَلَبُ العِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ. (Our analysis. Forms checked against the Quranic Arabic Corpus, Tanzil and Lane.)

Word Root What it does Meaning
طَلَبُ ط ل ب (our card) the subject; joined to the next word, so it has no ال and no -un the seeking of
العِلْمِ ع ل م (our card) completes طلب, so it ends in -i knowledge
فَرِيضَةٌ ف ر ض what is said about the subject an obligation; Lane: "A thing made obligatory, or binding, on a person or persons … by God"; as in فَرِيضَةً مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ, "an obligation from Allah" (4:11, Saheeh International)
عَلَى (a particle) "on", the one who carries the duty on, upon; as in وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ (3:122)
كُلِّ ك ل ل governed by على, so it ends in -i every; as in كُلُّ نَفْسٍ (3:185)
مُسْلِمٍ س ل م completes كل, so it ends in -in a Muslim; as in مُّسْلِمًا (3:67)

How it works. Again no verb: "the seeking of knowledge [is] an obligation on every Muslim". The subject is two nouns joined into one (iḍāfa): «طلب العلم», "the seeking of knowledge". The first noun drops ال and its -un, and the second takes -i. Urdu took the joined pair whole, with the Persian ezāfe doing the joining: طلبِ علم. And كل works the same way: «كل مسلم», "every Muslim", is another joined pair.

Open questions
  • ¶12a The edition prints «ليبيننه للناس ولا يكتمونه», with yāʾ ("that they make it clear … and not conceal it"), and so does the digital text; the Tanzil text has «لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُۥ … تَكْتُمُونَهُۥ», with tāʾ, and Saheeh International translates that. We have not checked in a source on the readings of the Quran whether the yāʾ is another recognised reading or a copyist's change, so the edition's Arabic stays as printed, and the Quran block gives the Tanzil text with Saheeh.
  • ¶9a Ghazali does not say whether Ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam rose for the obligatory noon prayer or for voluntary prayer before it; «فدخل الظهر» says only that its time had come in.
  • ¶1f Al-ʿIrāqī leaves open which al-Ḥasan reported it, Ibn ʿAlī or al-Baṣrī; al-Dārimī's chain says only «عن الحسن».
  • ¶13d Al-ʿIrāqī says Aḥmad records the hadith from Muʿādh; our copy of the Musnad is partial and does not have it, so we have not seen that wording.
  • The sayings on this page (Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Abī Mulayka, Ibn al-Mubārak, Abū al-Dardāʾ, ʿAṭāʾ, ʿUmar, al-Shāfiʿī, Mālik) are not traced by al-ʿIrāqī, who traces only reports from the Prophet ﷺ; we have not looked for them.
More on the hadith

¶1b, «طلب العلم فريضة على كل مسلم», has no note here: al-ʿIrāqī traced it where Ghazali first quoted it, V1 p2 ¶5 (note 2): Ibn Mājah from Anas, graded weak by Aḥmad, al-Bayhaqī and others. In the nine books: Sunan Ibn Majah 224.