Vol 1 · p 10

Knowledge that passes on: the hadith on teaching

Book 1 · Knowledge كتاب العلم

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Ghazali goes on with the excellence of teaching, now from the hadith: whoever learns in order to teach, whoever hides knowledge, whoever passes on a word of wisdom; the scholars who intercede on the Day of Resurrection; knowledge that disappears when the scholars die; and the Prophet ﷺ, who called himself a teacher and sat down with those who were teaching. Ghazali's own point: the reward is for knowledge that passes on to others. The page ends with the Prophet's ﷺ likeness of rain falling on three kinds of land.

غزالی سکھانے کی فضیلت پر حدیثیں لاتے ہیں: جو سکھانے کی نیت سے سیکھے، جو علم چھپائے، جو حکمت کی بات آگے پہنچائے؛ قیامت کے دن سفارش کرنے والے علماء؛ وہ علم جو علماء کے مرنے سے اٹھ جاتا ہے؛ اور نبی ﷺ جنہوں نے خود کو معلم کہا اور سکھانے والوں کے حلقے میں جا بیٹھے۔ غزالی کی اپنی بات: اجر اس علم کا ہے جو دوسروں تک پہنچے۔ صفحہ نبی ﷺ کی اس مثال پر ختم ہوتا ہے جس میں بارش تین طرح کی زمین پر برستی ہے۔

Key terms

الملكوتal-malakūtthe dominion, the kingdom
الشفاعةal-shafāʿaintercession

¶ 1 · continued from the previous page

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم من تعلم بابا من العلم ليعلم الناس أعطي ثواب سبعين صديقا ¹

And he ﷺ said: "Whoever learns a chapter of knowledge in order to teach people is given the reward of seventy of the truthful (ṣiddīqs)."¹

وقال عيسى صلى الله عليه وسلم من علم وعمل وعلم فذلك يدعى عظيما في ملكوت السموات

And ʿĪsā, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: "Whoever knows, and acts, and teaches: that one is called great in the dominion (malakūt) of the heavens."

¶ 2

وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا كان يوم القيامة يقول الله سبحانه للعابدين والمجاهدين ادخلوا الجنة فيقول العلماء بفضل علمنا تعبدوا وجاهدوا فيقول الله عز وجل أنتم عندي كبعض ملائكتي اشفعوا تشفعوا فيشفعون ثم يدخلون الجنة ²

And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah, Glorified is He, will say to the worshippers and to those who strove in His way (al-mujāhidīn): 'Enter Paradise.' And the scholars will say: 'It was by the merit of our knowledge that they worshipped and strove.' And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, will say: 'You are, with Me, like some of My angels. Intercede, and your intercession will be accepted.' So they intercede, and then they enter Paradise."²

وهذا إنما يكون بالعلم المتعدي بالتعليم لا العلم اللازم الذي لا يتعدى

And this comes about only through knowledge that passes on to others (al-mutaʿaddī) by teaching, not knowledge that stays (al-lāzim) and does not pass on.

¶ 3

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الله عز وجل لا ينتزع العلم انتزاعا من الناس بعد أن يؤتيهم إياه ولكن يذهب بذهاب العلماء فكلما ذهب عالم ذهب بما معه من العلم حتى إذا لم يبق إلا رؤساء جهالا إن سئلوا أفتوا بغير علم فيضلون ويضلون ³

And he ﷺ said: "Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does not snatch knowledge away from people after He has given it to them; rather it goes with the going of the scholars. Every time a scholar goes, what knowledge he has goes with him, until, when none are left but ignorant leaders, if they are asked they give rulings without knowledge, and so they go astray and lead others astray."³

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم من علم علما فكتمه ألجمه الله يوم القيامة بلجام من نار ⁴

And he ﷺ said: "Whoever knows something and conceals it, Allah will bridle him on the Day of Resurrection with a bridle of fire."⁴

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم نعم العطية ونعم الهدية كلمة حكمة تسمعها فتطوى عليها ثم تحملها إلى أخ لك مسلم تعلمه إياها تعدل عبادة سنة ⁵

And he ﷺ said: "What a fine gift and what a fine present is a word of wisdom that you hear, then fold yourself over it, then carry it to a Muslim brother of yours and teach it to him: it equals a year's worship."⁵

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم الدنيا ملعونة ملعون ما فيها إلا ذكر الله سبحانه وما والاه أو معلما أو متعلما ⁶

And he ﷺ said: "The world is cursed, and what is in it is cursed, except the remembrance of Allah, Glorified is He, and what is close to it, or one who teaches, or one who learns."⁶

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الله سبحانه وملائكته وأهل سمواته وأرضه حتى النملة في جحرها حتى الحوت في البحر ليصلون على معلم الناس الخير ⁷

And he ﷺ said: "Allah, Glorified is He, and His angels, and the people of His heavens and His earth, even the ant in its hole, even the fish in the sea, send blessings on the one who teaches people good."⁷

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم ما أفاد المسلم أخاه فائدة أفضل من حديث حسن بلغه فبلغه ⁸

And he ﷺ said: "A Muslim gives his brother no benefit better than a good saying (ḥadīth ḥasan) that reached him and that he passed on."⁸

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم كلمة من الخير يسمعها المؤمن فيعلمها ويعمل بها خير له من عبادة سنة ⁹

And he ﷺ said: "A word of good that a believer hears, then teaches it and acts on it, is better for him than a year's worship."⁹

وخرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم فرأى مجلسين أحدهما يدعون الله عز وجل ويرغبون إليه والثاني يعلمون الناس فقال أما هؤلاء فيسألون الله تعالى فإن شاء أعطاهم وإن شاء منعهم وأما هؤلاء فيعلمون الناس وإنما بعثت معلما ثم عدل إليهم وجلس معهم ¹⁰

And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out one day and saw two gatherings. One of them were calling on Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and turning to Him in longing; the other were teaching people. He said: "As for these, they ask Allah, Exalted is He: if He wills He gives them, and if He wills He withholds from them. And as for these, they teach people; and I was sent only as a teacher." Then he turned to them and sat with them.¹⁰

وقال صلى الله عليه وسلم مثل ما بعثني الله عز وجل به من الهدى والعلم كمثل الغيث الكثير أصاب أرضا فكانت منها بقعة قبلت الماء فأنبتت الكلأ والعشب الكثير وكانت منها بقعة أمسكت الماء فنفع الله عز وجل بها الناس فشربوا منها وسقوا وزرعوا وكانت منها طائفة قيعان لا تمسك ماء ولا تنبت كلأ ¹¹ اه

And he ﷺ said: "The likeness (mathal) of the guidance and knowledge with which Allah, Mighty and Majestic, sent me is the likeness of abundant rain that fell on a land. Part of it was a patch that took in the water and grew pasture and much green herbage; part of it was a patch that held the water, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, benefited people by it, and they drank from it, watered their animals and farmed; and part of it was bare flats (qīʿān) that neither hold water nor grow pasture."¹¹ («اه»: the quotation ends.)

فالأول ذكره مثلا للمنتفع بعلمه والثاني ذكره مثلا للنافع والثالث للمحروم منهما

So the first he gave as a likeness for the one who benefits from his knowledge, and the second he gave as a likeness for the one who benefits others, and the third for the one deprived of both.

Study this page · not Ghazali's text

Hadith and al-ʿIrāqī's verdicts11 hadith

1

حديث من تعلم بابا من العلم ليعلم الناس أعطي ثواب سبعين صديقا رواه أبو منصور الديلمي في مسند الفردوس من حديث ابن مسعود بسند ضعيف

Recorded by Abū Manṣūr al-Daylamī in Musnad al-Firdaws from Ibn Masʿūd (RA), with a weak chain.

In the nine books:
not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).
2

حديث إذا كان يوم القيامة يقول الله تعالى للعابدين والمجاهدين ادخلوا الجنة الحديث أخرجه أبو العباس الذهبي في العلم من حديث ابن عباس بسند ضعيف

Recorded by Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Dhahabī in al-ʿIlm from Ibn ʿAbbās (RA), with a weak chain.

In the nine books:
not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).
3

حديث إن الله لا ينتزع العلم انتزاعا من الناس الحديث متفق عليه من حديث عبد الله بن عمرو

Agreed upon (Bukhari and Muslim), from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr (RA).

In the nine books:
Sahih al-Bukhari 100 and 7307; Sahih Muslim 2673a and 2673d; Jami al-Tirmidhi 2652; Sunan Ibn Majah 52; and Sunan al-Darimi; all from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr. Bukhari's first wording: «إن الله لا يقبض العلم انتزاعا ينتزعه من العباد ولكن يقبض العلم بقبض العلماء». The collection's English: "Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it away from (the hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death of the religious learned men till when none of the (religious learned men) remains, people will take as their leaders ignorant persons who when consulted will give their verdict without knowledge. So they will go astray and will lead the people astray." Ghazali's «بعد أن يؤتيهم إياه», "after He has given it to them", is closest to Bukhari's second wording: «إن الله لا ينزع العلم بعد أن أعطاهموه انتزاعا».
4

حديث من علم علما فكتمه ألجم يوم القيامة بلجام من نار رواه أبو داود والترمذي وابن ماجه وابن حبان والحاكم وصححه من حديث أبي هريرة قال الترمذي حديث حسن

Recorded by Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Mājah, Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Ḥākim, who graded it sound, from Abū Hurayra (RA); al-Tirmidhī said: a ḥasan hadith.

In the nine books:
Sunan Abi Dawud 3658, Jami al-Tirmidhi 2649 and Sunan Ibn Majah 266, from Abū Hurayra, as "whoever is asked about knowledge": «من سئل عن علم فكتمه ألجمه الله بلجام من نار يوم القيامة» (Abu Dawud's wording). The collection's English: "He who is asked something he knows and conceals it will have a bridle of fire put on him on the Day of Resurrection." Also Sunan Ibn Majah 264, from Anas ibn Mālik.
5

حديث نعم العطية ونعم الهدية كلمة حكمة تسمعها الحديث أخرجه الطبراني من حديث ابن عباس نحوه بإسناد ضعيف

Recorded by al-Ṭabarānī from Ibn ʿAbbās (RA), something like it, with a weak chain.

In the nine books:
not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).
6

حديث الدنيا ملعونة ملعون ما فيها الحديث أخرجه الترمذي وابن ماجه من حديث أبي هريرة قال الترمذي حسن غريب

Recorded by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah from Abū Hurayra (RA); al-Tirmidhī said: ḥasan gharīb.

In the nine books:
Jami al-Tirmidhi 2322 and Sunan Ibn Majah 4112, from Abū Hurayra. The collection's English (Tirmidhi's): "Lo! Indeed the world is cursed. What is in it is cursed, except for remembrance of Allah, what is conducive to that, the knowledgeable person and the learning person."
7

حديث إن الله وملائكته وأهل السموات وأهل الأرض حتى النملة في جحرها وحتى الحوت في البحر ليصلون على معلم الناس الخير أخرجه الترمذي من حديث أبي أمامة وقال غريب وفي نسخة حسن صحيح

Recorded by al-Tirmidhī from Abū Umāma (RA); he said gharīb, and in one copy ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.

In the nine books:
Jami al-Tirmidhi 2685, from Abū Umāma al-Bāhilī: the second half of the hadith on V1 p6 ¶2k. Our copy has al-Tirmidhī's verdict as «حسن صحيح غريب». The collection's English: "Indeed Allah, His Angels, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earths - even the ant in his hole, even the fish - say Salat upon the one who teaches the people to do good."
8

حديث ما أفاد المسلم أخاه فائدة أفضل من حديث حسن الحديث أخرجه ابن عبد البر من رواية محمد بن المنكدر مرسلا نحوه ولأبي نعيم من حديث عبد الله بن عمرو ما أهدى مسلم لأخيه هدية أفضل من كلمة تزيده هدى أو ترده عن ردى

Recorded by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr from Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir, mursal (without the Companion named), in similar words; and Abū Nuʿaym has, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr (RA): "No Muslim gives his brother a gift better than a word that adds to his guidance or turns him back from ruin."

In the nine books:
not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).
9

حديث كلمة من الحكمة يسمعها المؤمن فيعمل بها ويعلمها الحديث أخرجه ابن المبارك في الزهد والرقائق من رواية زيد بن أسلم مرسلا نحوه وفي مسند الفردوس من حديث أبي هريرة بسند ضعيف كلمة حكمة يسمعها الرجل خير له من عبادة سنة

Recorded by Ibn al-Mubārak in al-Zuhd wa-l-Raqāʾiq from Zayd ibn Aslam, mursal, in similar words; and in Musnad al-Firdaws from Abū Hurayra (RA), with a weak chain: "A word of wisdom that a man hears is better for him than a year's worship."

In the nine books:
not in them; al-ʿIrāqī names where it is recorded (above).
10

حديث خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات يوم على أصحابه فرأى مجلسين أحدهما يدعون الله الحديث أخرجه ابن ماجه من حديث عبد الله بن عمرو بسند ضعيف

Recorded by Ibn Mājah from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr (RA), with a weak chain.

In the nine books:
Sunan Ibn Majah 229, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, in other words: one circle «يقرءون القرآن ويدعون الله», the other «يتعلمون ويعلمون», and he ﷺ begins «كل على خير». The collection's English: "The Messenger of Allah came out of one of his apartments one day and entered the mosque, where he saw two circles, one reciting Qur'an and supplicating to Allah, and the other learning and teaching. The Prophet said: 'Both of them are good. These people are reciting the Qur'an and supplicating to Allah, and if He wills He will give them, and if He wills He will withhold from them. And these people are learning and teaching. Verily I have been sent as a teacher.' Then he sat down with them." Also in Sunan al-Darimi.
11

حديث مثل ما بعثني الله به من العلم والهدى الحديث متفق عليه من حديث أبي موسى

Agreed upon (Bukhari and Muslim), from Abū Mūsā (RA).

In the nine books:
Sahih al-Bukhari 79 and Sahih Muslim 2282, from Abū Mūsā. The collection's English (Bukhari's) begins: "The example of guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me is like abundant rain falling on the earth, some of which was fertile soil that absorbed rain water and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance." Both go on, past Ghazali's quotation, to explain the likeness: study note on ¶3j.

Words of the day2 words

حديث (ḥadīth), a saying, a report: ha-dal-tha
مثل (mathal), a likeness, a parable: mim-tha-lam

Sentence breakdown

The session's sentence is on V1 p9.

Open questions

¶1b Ghazali gives the saying as ʿĪsā's; al-ʿIrāqī does not trace it, and in Jami al-Tirmidhi almost the same words are al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ's (study note). We have not looked for it in other sources.
¶2a Al-ʿIrāqī names «أبو العباس الذهبي في العلم», Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Dhahabī "in al-ʿIlm"; we have not identified this author or his book further.
¶3e Al-ʿIrāqī's copy of al-Tirmidhī read gharīb, with ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ in another copy; ours reads «حسن صحيح غريب». Which reading al-Tirmidhī wrote, we cannot settle.