Part of Lives of the Salaf — the Pious Predecessors (series completed)
· Lesson 9 of 72
The life of the predecessors between words and deeds | Episode (9) | Determination in seeking knowledge
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
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The life of the salaf between word and deed.
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Regarding what has been said about withholding some knowledge for the sake of public interest,
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and not disseminating it to everyone.
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‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
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"It is sufficient for a man to be considered a liar
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that he narrates everything he hears."
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And from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
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"I memorized two vessels of knowledge from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
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Two vessels.
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As for one of them, I have disseminated it among the people.
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But as for the other,
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if I were to disseminate it, this throat would be cut."
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And al-Sha‘bi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Do not withhold knowledge from those who are worthy of it, lest you commit a sin,
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and do not narrate it to those who are unworthy of it, lest you commit a sin."
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And from Yazid ibn Maysarah, may Allah have mercy on him,
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who said: "Do not offer your knowledge to one who does not ask for it,
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do not scatter pearls before one who will not pick them up,
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and do not display your goods to one who will only devalue them for you."
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And from Kathir ibn Murrah, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
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"Do not narrate wisdom to the foolish, lest they despise you,
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and do not narrate wisdom to the foolish, lest they call you a liar.
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Do not withhold knowledge from those who are worthy of it, lest you commit a sin,
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and do not place it with those who are unworthy, lest you be considered ignorant.
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Indeed, you have an obligation regarding your knowledge,
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just as you have an obligation regarding your wealth."
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And from Mutarrif ibn al-Shikhkhir, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
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"Do not feed your food to one who does not desire it."
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And ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"A man cannot be an imam who is followed
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until he refrains from narrating some of what he has heard."
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Ambition in seeking knowledge.
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From Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
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"When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed away,
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I said to a man from the Ansar:
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'O so-and-so, come, let us ask the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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for they are numerous today.'
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He replied: 'How strange of you, O Ibn ‘Abbas!
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Do you think the people are in need of you?
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When among the people there are those from the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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whom you see?'
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So he abandoned that,
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but I devoted myself to asking.
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If news reached me of a hadith from a man,
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I would go to him while he was taking a nap,
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that is, sleeping during the afternoon.
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I would use my cloak as a pillow at his door,
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while the wind would blow dust onto my face.
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He would come out and see me,
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and say:
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'O cousin of the Messenger of Allah,
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what brings you here?
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Why did you not send for me so I could come to you?'
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I would say: 'No,
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I am more deserving of coming to you.'
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Then I would ask him about the hadith."
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He said:
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"The man lived until he saw me
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when the people had gathered around me.
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He said:
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'This young man was wiser than I.'"
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And from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah, may Allah have mercy on him:
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That a man from the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
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traveled to Fadalah ibn ‘Ubayd,
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may Allah be pleased with him, while he was in Egypt.
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He arrived while he was tending to a camel.
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He said:
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"Welcome."
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He said:
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"I have not come to visit you,
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but I heard a hadith, as did you,
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from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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and I hoped that you might have knowledge of it."
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He said:
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"It is such and such."
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And from Abu al-‘Aliyah, may Allah have mercy on him, who said:
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"We used to hear reports in Basra
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from the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
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but we were not satisfied until we traveled to Medina
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and heard them directly from their own mouths."
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And Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, may Allah have mercy on him, recalled
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a hadith one night after the ‘Isha prayer while he was sitting,
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and he remained in that same sitting position until morning.
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And it was said to Ibn al-Mubarak, may Allah have mercy on him:
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"How long will you continue to write down hadith?"
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He said:
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"Perhaps the word that will benefit me is one I have not yet heard."
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And Ibn al-Qasim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"Seeking knowledge led Malik ibn Anas, may Allah have mercy on him,
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to the point that he tore down the roof of his house and sold its timber.
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Then, the world later turned toward him."
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And Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"My mother used to dress me and say to me:
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'Go to Rabi‘ah, may Allah have mercy on him,
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and learn from his character before his knowledge.'"
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And the poet said:
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"Whoever strives to attain a goal and perseveres,
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shall attain it, or at least a part of it if it proves difficult.
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So as long as you live, seek knowledge and nobility,
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and spare no effort, lest you die and be excused."
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And Tha‘lab, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"I never missed Ibrahim al-Harbi, may Allah have mercy on him,
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from a session of grammar or linguistics for fifty years."
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And it was said to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him:
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"Until when should a man write?"
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He said: "Until he dies."
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And a man said to him: "I am seeking knowledge,
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but my mother prevents me from doing so;
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she wants me to work in trade."
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He said to him:
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"Be gentle with her and please her,
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but do not abandon seeking knowledge."
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And Abu ‘Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
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"I spent forty years compiling this book,
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*Gharib al-Hadith*.
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Forty years.
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Sometimes I would gain a benefit from the mouths of men,
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and I would place it in its proper place in this book,
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and I would stay awake all night, rejoicing in that benefit.
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Yet one of you comes to me,
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stays with me for four months,
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or five months,
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and then says: 'I have stayed for a long time.'"
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The life of the salaf
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between word and deed.