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.
‘Aun reported Ibn Mas'ud as saying, “Two greedy ones never
attain satisfaction, the learned man and the worldly man, but they are
not equal. The learned man becomes more pleasing to the Compassionate One, but the worldly man perseveres in transgression." Then
‘Abdallah recited, “Nay, but man transgresses in considering that he
is self-sufficient. "* He added, “The other is preferable, for ‘only those
of His servants who are learned fear God.’ " Darimi transmitted it.
*Qur’an, xcvi, 6 f.
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.”
Narrated He also reported the Prophet as saying, “Two greedy ones never
attain satisfaction:
he who is greedy for knowledge can never get
enough of it, and he who is greedy for worldly goods can never get
enough of them." Baihaqi transmitted the three traditions in Shu'ab
al-iman, and quoted the imam Ahmad as saying about Abu Darda''s
tradition, “This is a well-known text among the people, but it does not
have a sound isnad."
