The following translation is an excerpt from the Chapter on Knowledge and Learning of Imam al-Ghazali’s Mukhtasar Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din
You should know that there are many evidences found in the Qur’an for the benefit of knowledge.
Among them is the verse: (Allah will raise those who believe among you and those who are given knowledge in degrees) (al-Mujadilah, 11).
Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنه said, regarding this verse, “The scholars are raised above the believers by seven hundred degrees. Between each two degrees is the distance of five hundred years’ journey.”
Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ has also said: (Say: Are those who know and those who don’t know equal?) (al-Zumar, 19).
And He سبحانه وتعالىٰ said: (From among the servants [of Allah], only the scholars fear Allah) (Fatir, 28).
He سبحانه وتعالىٰ also said: (These are the similitudes that we strike for mankind. However, only the scholars understand) (al-‘Ankabut, 43).
There are also many evidences for the benefit of knowledge in the Hadiths. The Prophet ﷺ said, “The Scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets.”
He ﷺ also said, “The best of people is the scholar who, if he is needed, he benefits people, and, if he is not needed, he suffices himself.”
He ﷺ also said, “Faith is naked. Its clothing is conscious fear of God, its adornment is modesty, and its fruit is knowledge.”
And he ﷺ said, “The closest of people to the degree of Prophethood are the people of knowledge and the people of struggle. As for the people of knowledge, their closeness is because they have guided people to that which the Messengers brought. As for the people of struggle, they struggled with their swords for the sake of that which the Messengers brought.”
He also said ﷺ, “The scholar is Allah’s appointed custodian in the Earth.”
And he ﷺ said, “On the Day of Judgement, the Prophets will intercede first, then the scholars, then the martyrs.”
Fath al-Mawsili said, “Is it not the case that if the sick person is denied food, drink and medicine, he will die?”
It was said, “Yes.”
He said, “It is the same way with the heart. If it is denied wisdom and knowledge for three days, it dies.” He spoke the truth. For the heart’s nourishment is knowledge and wisdom, just as food and drink are the nourishment of the body. Knowledge and wisdom give life. If someone lacks knowledge, his heart is sick. And its death is imminent. However, he will not perceive the imminent death of his heart, because the worldly occupations have neutralized his senses. When death removes those occupations from him, he will feel a great pain and immense, unending remorse.
That is the meaning of the Prophet’s ﷺ words, “People are asleep. When they die, they wake up.”
As for the benefit of learning, this is indicated in the Prophet’s words ﷺ, “Indeed, the Angels lower their wings to the seeker of knowledge, out of happiness with his action.”
He ﷺ also said, “That you should go out in the morning and study a chapter of knowledge is better than your praying one hundred rak’ahs.”
Abu Darda’ رضي الله عنه said, “If someone believes that going out in search of knowledge is not struggle [in the way of Allah], his belief and intellect are deficient.”
As for the benefit of teaching, it is indicated in His سبحانه وتعالىٰ words: (And when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the book: That you will make it clear to mankind and will not hide it) (Al ‘Imran, 187).
When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ recited this ayah, he said, “Allah did not give anyone knowledge, except that He took from him the same covenant that He took from the Prophets: that you make it clear to people and don’t hide it.”
He ﷺ also said, when he sent Mu’adh b. Jabal رضي الله عنه to Yemen, “That Allah guides one person by you is better for you than the world and all that it contains.”
‘Umar رضي الله عنه said, “If someone relates a Hadith, and it is acted upon, he will have a reward similar to the one who acted upon it.”
Mu’adh b. Jabal رضي الله عنه said, regarding teaching and learning, and his narration is attributed to the Prophet ﷺ:
“Study knowledge. For studying knowledge for the sake of Allah is a good deed. Seeking it is worship. Reviewing it is glorification. Searching for it is struggle [in the way of Allah]. Teaching it is charity. Spreading it amongst people of knowledge is a means of drawing near [to Allah].
“Knowledge is company in loneliness, a companion in seclusion, the indicator of benefit and harm, the adviser in desolate places, a traveling companion in towns, and a lighthouse on the Path that leads to Paradise.
“Allah raises by it some people, placing them in goodness as leaders, and exemplars by whom people are guided, and directors to good. Their statements are transmitted. Their actions are considered and studied. The Angels long for their beauty and caress them with their wings. Every dry and wet plant glorifies Allah on their behalf. And the whales and animals of the ocean seek forgiveness for them, as do animals of prey, and birds, and the sky and its stars. That is because knowledge gives life to dead hearts, illuminates the darkness of one’s vision, and strengthens weak bodies. The slave reaches, by it, the levels of the righteous and high degrees.
“Contemplating knowledge is equal to fasting, and studying it is equal to standing the night in prayer. Through it, Allah is obeyed. With it, He is worshipped, and His oneness realized. Through it, one practices caution, and keeps the ties of kinship. It is the Imam, and actions follow it. Felicitous people are inspired with it, and the wretched are denied it.”
From the standpoint of the intellect, the benefit of knowledge is evident because, through it, one arrives before Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ, to the places of His nearness and intimacy. Knowledge is eternal felicity and perpetual sweetness, which has no end. Thus, knowledge comprises nobility in this world and felicity in the Hereafter.
The world is the sowing ground of the Hereafter. Consequently, the scholar, with his knowledge, sows eternal bliss by disciplining his conduct through the dictates of knowledge. He may also sow eternal bliss through teaching, because he will have disciplined other people and called them, through his knowledge, to that by which they will be drawn near to Allah.
Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ says: (Call to the path of your Lord with wise counsel and beautiful exhortation. And dispute with them in the best manner) (al-Nahl, 125).
The scholar calls the elect through wise counsel, the ordinary believers through beautiful exhortations, and the rebellious people with argumentation. Thus, he saves himself and others. And that is the perfection of the human being.
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