About Knowledge - Beneficial Read!

The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) said,

من يُرد الله به خيراً يُفَقَّه في الدين، وإنما أنا قاسمٌ والله يُعطي،
ولن تزال هذه الأمة قائمة على أمر الله لايضرهم من خالفهم حتى يأتي أمر الله
"Whoever Allaah desires good for, He will endow him with comprehension of the religion. And verily, I am but an oath taker and Allaah is the Provider. And this Ummah will never cease to be upon the command of Allaah. It will not be harmed by those who oppose them until the mater of Allaah arrives." [Narrated by Al-Bukhaaree from Mu'awiyyah, may Allaah be merciful to him.]

And Muslim narrated it (i.e. the Hadeeth) in Maarfu'an (literally means "raised up"; however, in Hadeeth terminology and classification it refers to a narration, which is completely connected from the narrator, that is "raised up" all the way to the source; in this case, to the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam) from Mu'awiyyah with the phrasing,

من يُرد الله به خيراً يفقهه فى الدين، ولاتزال عصابة من المسلمين يقاتلون على الحق ظاهرين على من ناوأهم إلى يوم القيامة
"Whoever Allaah desires good for, He will endow him with comprehension of the religion. And there will never cease to be a group from the Muslims, fighting upon the truth, opposing those who go against them until the Day of Resurrection."

From the benefits of this Hadeeth:

A) This Hadeeth points out the virtue of knowledge and the virtue of its people and that the comprehension from the slave regarding his religion is from the signs that Allaah, the Most High, desires goodness for him. This is because, through his understanding his religion, his deeds will become righteous, as it has passed, concerning the obligation of compliance to the Sharee'ah for the validity of his actions. And by him understanding his religion, he will guide others to the truth and the goodness (as well). So he will gain the rewards of the deeds of whomever he guided. And this all clarifies the great virtue of knowledge and the great rewards of the people who act according to it.

Also, this Hadeeth indicates, with its understanding, that whoever is not endowed with comprehension of his religion has been forbidden the goodness. Ibn Hajr said,

وقد أخرج أبو يعلى حديث معاوية من وجه آخر ضعيف وزاد فى آخره
« ومن لم يتفقه فى الدين لم يُبَال الله به »
والمعنى صحيح، لأن من لم يعرف أمور دينه لايكون فقيها ولا طالب فقه، فيصح أن يوصف بأنه ما أريد به الخير،
وفى ذلك بيان ظاهر لفضل العلماء علي سائر الناس، ولفضل التفقه فى الدين علي سائر العلوم
"And Abu Ya'ala has narrated this Hadeeth of Mu'awiyyah from an alternate route, which is weak and it contains an additional phrase in its end: '…And whoever is not granted the comprehension in his religion, then Allaah has not paid him any attention.' And the meaning (of this addition) is correct because whoever does not know the matters of his religion, he will neither be a jurist nor a student of jurisprudence. So it would be correct for this to be described as though good was not desired for him. And in that, there is an apparent clarification for the virtue of the 'Ulamaa above the rest of the people and for the virtues of leaning the religion above the rest of the sciences." ["Fat'h Al-Baree", Vol.1/165]

Allah Ta’ala says: {And on the earth are signs for those who have Faith with certainty. And also in your own selves, Will you not then see?}

B) Also, (it points out) that the knowledge will not be (attained) merely through an attempt to attain it - in other words, by seeking and leaning - rather, for whoever Allaah opens (the path) for. And the evidence for this, is his 's statement, من يـــرد الله به خيراً يُفقهه "Whoever Allaah desires good for, He will endow him with comprehension…" And he did not say, "…let him comprehend…" So he attributed this gaining of understanding, to Allaah and not the (mere) attempt of the slave, even if the attempt of slave through learning is a cause for it.

And his 's statement, in the narration of Bukhaaree: وإنما أنا قاسم "And verily, I am but an oath taker…" - in other words, for the knowledge and a conveyer of it, والله يعطى "…and Allaah is the Provider," in other words, Provider of the comprehension to whoever He wills. So not everyone who has been reached by a portion of the Prophet's knowledge is a jurist.

And His, the Most High's, statement supports this:

يُؤْتِ الحكمـــــة من يشــــاء ومن يُؤْتَ الحكمـــة فقد أوتى خيــراً كثيرا
"He grants Hikmah (i.e. Wisdom) to whom He pleases, and he, to whom Hikmah is granted, is indeed granted abundant good. But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of understanding." (Al-Baqarah, 269)

So it has been confirmed that the Hikmah (i.e. wisdom) is something that is granted from Allaah, the Most High, and Ibn 'Abdul-Barr narrated from Maalik, may Allaah be merciful to him, that he said,

الحكمة هى الفقه في دين الله
"The Hikmah is the comprehension in the religion of Allaah." ["Al-Jaami' Bayaan Al-'Ilm", Vol. 1/17]

Also, Ibn 'Abdul-Barr narrated from Imaam Maalik, may Allaah be merciful to him, that he said,

الحكمـــة والعــــلم نـور يهدي به الله من يشاء وليس بكثرة المسائل
"The Hikmah and the knowledge is a light, with which Allaah guides whomever He wills and it does not merely come through a plethora of matters (i.e. efforts to study etc.) And also from him, that he said,

إن العلم ليس بكثرة الرواية ولكنه نور جعله الله فى القلوب
"Verily, knowledge does not come (merely) through a plethora of narrations, rather it is a light, which Allaah places in the hearts." ["Al-Jaami' Bayaan Al-'Ilm", Vol. 2/25]