عن أبي الدَّرْداءِ قال: سمعتُ رسولَ الله ﷺ يقولُ: «مَن سلَكَ طريقًا يَلتمِسُ فيه عِلمًا، سهَّلَ اللهُ له طريقًا إلى الجنةِ، وإنَّ الملائكةَ لَتضَعُ أجنحتَها رضًا لطالب العلم، وإنَّ طالبَ العلم يَستغفِرُ له مَن في السماء والأرض، حتى الحيتانُ في الماء، وإنَّ فضلَ العالِم على العابد كفضل القمرِ على سائر الكواكب، وإنَّ العلماءَ ورَثةُ الأنبياء، وإنَّ الأنبياءَ لم يورِّثوا دينارًا ولا درهمًا؛ إنما ورَّثوا العلمَ، فمَن أخذه أخَذ بحظٍّ وافرٍ».
Abu al-Dardāʼ said: I heard God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) say:
1. When a person takes a way to pursue knowledge, God will facilitate his way to Heaven.
2. Angels put down their wings, feeling pleased with the pursuer of knowledge.
3. All dwellers of Heaven and earth, including fish in water, pray for the forgiveness of [the sins of] the one who pursues knowledge.
4. The superiority of a scholar to one who devotes much time in worship is similar to the superiority of the moon to all planets.
5. Scholars are the heirs of prophets. Prophets do not bequeath any amount of money, large or small, but they bequeath knowledge. Whoever takes it holds to a rich inheritance.
God, Mighty and Exalted, will facilitate the way to Heaven for every person who pursues Islamic knowledge. The angels will honour such a person, and creatures in Heaven, on earth and sea will pray to God to grant him forgiveness of his sins. Such people are like the moon while others look like other planets. They are the heirs of prophets as they inherit from them their most valuable possession, religious knowledge.
