The authenticity of the hadith: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh:
May Allah reward you.
The questioner:
May Allah greet you. A message was received for the program from listener Ibrahim ibn Abdulaziz Abu Hamid from the Suwaidi district in Riyadh. He asks a collection of questions, one of which is: What is the authenticity of this hadith: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”?
The Shaykh:
I do not know that this hadith was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); rather, I believe it is a phrase that circulates on the tongues of some people to encourage the pursuit of knowledge. Its meaning is correct: a Muslim should strive to seek knowledge throughout his life, because he is always in need of beneficial knowledge and should stock up on it as long as he is able and has the capacity for it. It is an encouragement to continue seeking knowledge and not to stop at a point one thinks is sufficient, because a Muslim is always in need of knowledge. Allah the Exalted says to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):[Taha 20:114] And He, Glorified and Exalted is He, says: [Yusuf 12:76] Yes.
May Allah reward you.
The questioner:
May Allah greet you. A message was received for the program from listener Ibrahim ibn Abdulaziz Abu Hamid from the Suwaidi district in Riyadh. He asks a collection of questions, one of which is: What is the authenticity of this hadith: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave”?
The Shaykh:
I do not know that this hadith was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); rather, I believe it is a phrase that circulates on the tongues of some people to encourage the pursuit of knowledge. Its meaning is correct: a Muslim should strive to seek knowledge throughout his life, because he is always in need of beneficial knowledge and should stock up on it as long as he is able and has the capacity for it. It is an encouragement to continue seeking knowledge and not to stop at a point one thinks is sufficient, because a Muslim is always in need of knowledge. Allah the Exalted says to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
and say, "My Lord, increase me in knowledge."
وَقُل رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًاbut over every possessor of knowledge is one [more] knowing.
وَفَوْقَ كُلِّ ذِي عِلْمٍ عَلِيمٌ
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 01/253 — archive.org (1:05)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.