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Chapter
03:
Knowledge (Hadith -- The
Traditions):
(Note:
The superscript-numbers [e.g., intention2]
that
appear in the text [in
pink]
refer to the numbers of the explanatory footnotes that
appear at the end of each Hadith
[Tradition].)
1
'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"There shall be no envy but
(emulate) two1
: the person whom Allah has given wealth and the power to
spend it in the service of Truth, and the person whom
Allah has granted knowledge2
of things and he judges by it and teaches it (to
others)."3
(B. 3 : 15.)
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1
The words in Arabic are la hasada illa
fi-thnataini, which may be rendered as meaning
"shall be no hasad but in two cases." But as
hasad or the desire that another person
shall be deprived of the advantages which he has,
is totally prohibited by the moral code of Islam;
the word illa is here used as an
istithnamunqati`. Hasad (envy) and
ghibtah (emulation) have one thing in
common, viz., a desire regarding advantages or
excellence which another man possesses; but in
hasad the desire is that he shall be
deprived of them, while in ghibtah it is
that the desirer may be favoured with similar
advantages. By using the word ghibtah in the
heading of this chapter, Bukhari shows that
while hasad is prohibited here,
ghibtah is recommended in two
cases.
2
The word in the original is hikmah
which may be rendered wisdom or
knowledge. According to R, it means "the
knowledge of things and the doing of
good."
3
The desire to have knowledge is here made akin to
the desire to possess wealth which is a natural
desire in every human heart, and thus it is made
clear that the acquisition of knowledge is as
important as that of wealth, and every human being
should acquire both. The desire to possess either,
however, is made subject to a further condition :
the possessor of wealth spends it in the cause of
Truth, and the possessor of knowledge teaches it to
others, so that the benefit of humanity is the real
end in view. In the Holy Qur'an , knowledge is
spoken of as the greatest wealth : "And whoever is
given knowledge (hikmah), he indeed is given
abundant wealth" (2 : 269).
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2
Malik ibn al-Huwairith said,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, said to
us:
"Go back to your people and
teach them."4
(B. 3 : 25.)
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4
It was the case of a deputation of the Rabi`ah
tribe that came to the Holy Prophet from Bahrain on
(the Persian Gulf). They were told to remember all
that they had learned in their residence at Madinah
and to teach it to their people. The duty to teach
others is laid on all Muslims in h. 3.
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3
Ibn `Abbas reported on the authority of the Prophet, peace
and blessings of Allah be on him:
"Let him who is present
impart knowledge to him who is absent." (B. 3 :
37.)
4
Abu Musa said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"There are three persons for
whom there is a double reward: ... the person who has a
slave-girl, and he brings her up and trains her in the
best manner and he educates her and gives her the best
education, then sets her free and marries her, he has a
double reward."5
(B. 3 : 31.)
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5
Here we are told that, so far as education was
concerned, even slave-girls were not to be
neglected. They had to be trained well and educated
in the best manner. This was what Islam aimed at,
and this was to be the Muslims' highest ideal; not
only were free citizens to be trained and educated
but even slaves, who were considered by the Arabs
to have a very low status--not so low, however, as
the unfortunate untouchables in India--were to be
brought up to the level of the free citizen by
proper education and training, and not only boys
but girls as well. The questions of mass education,
female education and emancipation of slaves were
thus forestalled by the Holy Prophet thirteen
hundred years before modern
civilisation.
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5
Abu Sa`id Khudri said,
The women said to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah
be on him. The men have got an advantage over us in
approaching thee therefore appoint for us a day from
thyself; so he promised them a day in which he met them and
he exhorted them and gave them
commandments.6
(B. 3 : 35.)
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6
Bukhari mentions this hadith under the heading,
"Should a separate day be fixed for the education
of women?" It shows that from the Islamic point of
view it is desirable that there should be separate
arrangements for the education of men and
women.
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6
Abu Hurairah reported that,
The Khuza`ah murdered a man of the Banu Laith in the year of
the conquest of Makkah, as a retaliation for the murder of
one of them whom they had murdered. The Prophet, peace and
blessings of Allah be on him, was informed of this, so he
mounted his riding camel and delivered an address . . . And
there came a man from among the people of Yaman and said,
Write it down for me, O Messenger of Allah! So he said:
"Write down for such and such a one."7
(B. 3 : 39.)
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7
Although the Holy Prophet himself did not know
reading or writing, he encouraged both. There is a
misunderstanding as to the prohibition of writing
down hadith. As this hadith shows, the Holy Prophet
himself ordered the writing down of hadith when it
was needed. Generally, however, writing of hadith
was not considered desirable as it was feared that
persons who were not cautious enough might confuse
the verses of the Holy Qur`an with hadith. As the
next hadith, however, shows there were some people
who regularly resorted to writing
hadith.
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7
Abu Hurairah said,
There was no one from among the companions of the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be on him, who reported more
hadith from him than myself, but `Abd Allah ibn `Amr used to
write while I did not write. (B. 3 : 39.)
8
Zaid ibn Thabit reported that,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
commanded him to learn the writing of the Jews (in
Syriac8)
so that I wrote for the Prophet, peace and blessings of
Allah be on him, his letters and read out to him their
letters when they wrote to him. (B. 93 : 40.)
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8
The words "in Syriac" are not in Bukhari but they
are added here on the authority of AD. and Tr. This
hadith shows that the Holy Prophet ordered the
learning of other languages as well.
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9
Abu Hurairah reported,
A man from among the Ansar said . . ., O Messenger of Allah!
I hear from thee a hadith which pleases me very much but I
cannot retain it in memory. The Messenger of Allah, peace
and blessings of Allah be on him, said:
"Seek the help of they right
hand."9
And he made a sign with his hand for
writing. (Tr. 39 : 12.)
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9
He was told to learn the art of writing and then
write down hadith.
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10
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"People are mines like mines
of gold and silver; the more excellent of them in the
days of Ignorance are the more excellent of them in Islam
when they attain knowledge."10
(M-Msh. 2 :
1.)
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10
The superiority of race over race and family over
family is recognised--people are mines like mines
of gold and silver--among Muslims as well as
non-Muslims, but it is added that this superiority
is maintained through attainment of knowledge. If
persons belonging to a superior race discard
knowledge, they lose their superiority. Racial or
family superiority is thus subject to the
acquisition of knowledge.
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11
Abu Hurairah said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"The word of wisdom is the
lost property of the believer, so wherever he finds it he
has a better right to it."11
(Tr. 39 : 19.)
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11
This hadith lays down upon every Muslim the
obligation of acquiring knowledge. Hikmah
means wisdom or knowledge, and
dzallah means a lost animal or an
object of persevering quest (LL.), so that the
believer should set out in search of knowledge as
perseveringly as the owner of a lost animal would
search for it.
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12
Anas said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"He who goes forth in search
of knowledge is in the the way of Allah till he returns."
(Tr. 39 : 2.)
13
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him,
said:
"Whomsoever Allah intends to
do good, He gives right understanding of religion."
And
"Knowledge is maintained only
through teaching."12
(B. 3 :
10.)
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12
These two sayings of the Holy Prophet are related
by Bukhari in the heading of the tenth chapter of
his "Book of Knowledge." The latter part shows that
stress was laid not only on the acquisition of
knowledge but also on conveying it to others or on
teaching it.
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14
"The learned ones are the heirs of the prophets--they leave
knowledge as their inheritance; he who inherits it inherits
a great fortune."13
(B. 3 : 10.)
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13
This is also a saying of the Holy Prophet and forms
part of the heading of B. 3 : 10. It is related as
a separate hadith in Tr. Knowledge is here
described as the inheritance of the prophets and is
called a great fortune.
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15
Anas said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"The seeking of knowledge is
obligatory upon every Muslim."14
(Bhq-Msh. 2.)
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14
The words every Muslim include both men and
women, while another version adds and every
Muslim woman. Its authorities are said to be
weak. It should, however, be noted that the more
authentic hadith quoted above also makes it
obligatory upon all Muslims, men as well as women,
to acquire knowledge.
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16
Anas said,
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be on
him, said:
"Of the signs of the Hour is
that knowledge shall be taken away and ignorance shall
reign supreme."15
(B. 3 : 21.)
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15
"The Hour" in the language of Islam indicates as
regards an individual, his death; as regards a
nation, the hour of its doom; and as regards the
whole of humanity, the destruction of all.
Evidently, what is meant here is the doom of a
particular nation. Just as knowledge brings life to
a nation, ignorance seals its doom. Thus have
Muslims fallen on evil days; instead of that thirst
for knowledge which characterised their ancestors,
ignorance is now rampant.
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Hadith
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> A
Manual of Hadith
> Chapter 03: Knowledge (Hadith -- The Traditions)
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