Category Archives: ‘Ilm

How to Become the Most Knowledgeable

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Sufyān [Ibn Uyaynah] رحمه الله said:

“If I practice upon the knowledge I have, I am the most knowledgeable of people; and if I do not practice upon the knowledge I possess, then there is no one on earth more ignorant than me.”[1]

 

[1] Al-Khaṭīb Al-Baghdādī in Al-Jāmi‘ li-Akhlāq-Ar-Rāwī wa-Ādāb-As-Sāmi‘

قَالَ سُفْيَانُ: «إِنْ أَنَا عَمِلْتُ بِمَا أَعْلَمُ فَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ النَّاسِ، وَإِنْ لَمْ أَعْمَلْ بِمَا أَعْلَمُ فَلَيْسَ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَحَدٌ أَجْهَلَ مِنِّي»

What Did Our ‘Ilm Do For Us?

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From the sayings of ‘Abdullāh ibn Al-Mubārak رحمه الله:

‘We acquired ‘ilm (religious knowledge) for the world, but it led us to leave the world aside.’[1]

One who acquires true ‘ilm will find that it leads him away from overindulgence in the pleasures of this world, and a deeper yearning for the pleasures of the Hereafter.

[1] Ibn Khallikān in Wafayāt Al-A‘yān.

ومن كلام ابن المبارك رحمه الله: تعلمنا العلم للدنيا فدلنا على ترك الدنيا.

Propagating Knowledge

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It has been narrated from Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit  that Ṣa‘īd ibn Jubayr رحمه الله said to him:

“That I propagate my knowledge is more beloved to me, than that I take it with me into my grave.”[1]

 

[1] Siyar-A‘lām-An-Nubalā

وَرُوِيَ عَنْ حَبِيْبِ بنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ: قَالَ لِي سَعِيْدُ بنُ جُبَيْرٍ: لأَنْ أَنْشُرَ عِلْمِي، أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَذْهَبَ بِهِ إِلَى قَبْرِي

True Knowledge

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Ibn Mas‘ūd رضي الله عنه would say:

“True ‘ilm is not the narrating of excessive aḥādīth; rather, true ‘ilm is excessive fear of Allāh.” (Al-Bayhaqī and Aṭ-Ṭabarānī)[1]

A person who is truly knowledgeable is the one who understands that Allāh is always watching him; hence he leads his life accordingly, keeping within the boundaries set by Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ.

[1] روى الطبراني في كبيره قال: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو خَلِيفَةَ، ثنا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، ثنا قُرَّةُ بْنُ خَالِدٍ، ثنا عَوْنٌ، قَالَ: قَالَ عَبْدُ اللهِ: «لَيْسَ الْعِلْمَ مِنْ كَثْرَةِ الْحَدِيثِ، وَلَكِنَّ الْعِلْمَ مِنَ الْخَشْيَةِ»، والبيهقي في مدخله: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدِ بْنُ فِرَاسٍ، أبنا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنُ الضَّحَّاكِ، ثنا عَلِيُّ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، ثنا مُسْلِمُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، ثنا قُرَّةُ وَهُوَ ابْنُ خَالِدٍ، ثنا عَوْنٌ، قَالَ: قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: لَيْسَ الْعِلْمُ بِكَثْرَةِ الْحَدِيثِ وَلَكِنَّ الْعِلْمَ بِالْخَشْيَةِ