Al-A‘mash reported God’s messenger as saying, "The calamity
which affects knowledge is forgetfulness, and wasting it is to convey it to
those who are unworthy of it.” Darimi transmitted it in mursal form.
If the learned were to guard learning
and entrust it to those who are worthy of it, they would thereby, rule
their contemporaries. But they have bestowed it on worldly people to
get thereby some of their worldly goods, and have been despised by
them. I heard your Prophet say, "If anyone makes the care of his
eternal welfare the sum total of his cares God will protect him from
worldly care, but if he has a variety of cares consisting of matters related to this world God will not be concerned in which of its wadis he
perishes.” Ibn Majah transmitted it, and Baihaqi transmitted it in
Shu'ab al-iman from Ibn ‘Umar beginning with "If anyone makes the
care.”
Sufyan said that ‘Umar b. al-Khattab asked Ka‘b who were the lords
of knowledge, and he replied that they are those who act according to
what they know. He then asked what it is that takes knowledge from
the hearts of the learned and was told that it is covetousness. Darimi
transmitted it.
Ibn ‘Abbas reported God’s messenger as saying, “Some among
my people will become learned in religion, will recite the Qur’an, and
say that they will go to princes and get some of their worldly goods,
but withdraw from them with their religion. That cannot be; for, as
what is gathered from tragacanth trees consists only of thorns, so what
is gathered from drawing near to them consists only of . . . ” Muhammad
b. as-Sabbah said that he obviously meant “sins." Ibn Majah transmitted it.
