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English translation
223. It was narrated that Kathir bin Qais said: "I was sitting with Abu Dardā' in the mosque of Damascus, when a man came to him and said: 'O Abu Dardā', I have come to you from Al-Madinah, the city of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ, for a
Hadith which I have heard that you narrate from the Prophet ﷺ. He said: 'Did you not come for trade?' He said: 'No.' He said: 'Did you not come for anything else?' He said: 'No.' He said: 'I heard the Messenger of Allâh ﷺ say: "Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allâh will make easy for him a path to Paradise. The angels lower their wings in approval of the seeker of knowledge, and everyone in the heavens and on earth prays for forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in the sea. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the moon over all other heavenly bodies. The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets, for the Prophets did not leave behind Dînâr or Dirham, rather they left behind knowledge, so whoever takes it has taken a great share.'" (Da'if)
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Commentary
Scholars of religion must either sit in the mosques in order to impart knowledge to the people, or hold sessions at conveniently located places where everyone—rich or poor, high or low—can reach them and profit by their teaching.
It is a praiseworthy act if a man travels from one city or town to another, in order to gain knowledge from a learned man.
All the creatures of Allâh love and pray for the prosperity of the man who undertakes a journey in pursuit of knowledge.
It is a matter of great honor for the scholars of religion to be termed as the spiritual heirs of the Prophets. The honor, however, puts on their shoulders a heavy burden of responsibility to (i) make plain the essence of truth, (ii) invite the people to accept it, (iii) try to wean them away from falsehood
and, (iv) never allow greed or fear to distract them from the doing of their duty. They should, in short, try to emulate the example of the Prophets of Allāh who were the embodiments of fortitude, sincerity of purpose, and commitment to their mission of preaching the message of Islam among the people.
