Hadith on Knowledge - Ibn Majah 224 - Seeking Knowledge is obligatory
حَدَّثَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّارٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، حَدَّثَنَا كَثِيرُ بْنُ شِنْظِيرٍ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ وَوَاضِعُ الْعِلْمِ عِنْدَ غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِ كَمُقَلِّدِ الْخَنَازِيرِ الْجَوْهَرَ وَاللُّؤْلُؤَ وَالذَّهَبَ
It was narrated from Anas bin Malik رضى الله تعالى عنه that Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim [1] , and he who imparts knowledge to those who do not deserve it, is like one who places a necklace of jewels, pearls and gold around the necks of the swine [2] .”
[1] Every Muslim: male or female, slave or master, black or white, child or parent, young or old, rich or poor, king or courtier, traveller or resident, sick or healthy, scholar or ignorant.
[2] Not everyone is worthy of receiving knowledge that is – any knowledge that is more than which is necessary. Because extra knowledge will either make a person boastful and he will argue with other scholars based on that extra knowledge that a person possesses. Or else, he will disregard it and cause it to become a means of mischief for the people. This Hadith is an indication that when sermons are issued to laymen it should be done so with simple language and basic knowledge that is incumbent for the laymen to understand. More than this may become a cause of disunity and mischief. It also indicates that students in the Islamic institutions must be audited for their behaviour and ethics. Those who do not qualify to become scholars must be expelled by the institutional management; otherwise such unqualified so-called students will acquire knowledge for worldly gain and ultimately taint the pristine image of Islamic scholarship.
[Translation]
Tehseen Raza Hamdani Nuri
Ajmeri Press, South Africa
References
Sunan Ibn Ma’ajah 224, Chapter 10, The virtues of spreading knowledge.
Sunan Ibn Ma’ajah 224 باب فَضْلِ نَشْرِ الْعِلْمِ
Kitaab al-muqaddima 7307