Is knowledge better or worship?
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Question : Here are questions regarding knowledge, Honorable Shaykh. Which is better, knowledge and reading, or worship? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer : Knowledge, knowledge and reading with a sincere intention, is better. For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Nothing is equal to knowledge for one whose intention is sound."
Knowledge is equivalent to jihad in the path of Allah. Listen to the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic:[At-Tawbah 9:122] meaning that it is not possible for all the believers to go out for jihad in the path of Allah [At-Tawbah 9:122].
[At-Tawbah 9:122] Who are those who understand the religion? The ones who stay behind or the ones who go out? The ones who stay behind. So he equated the sitting of these people to understand the religion with the going out of these people for jihad in the path of Allah. And we say that seeking religious knowledge is better than jihad in the path of Allah.
This is from the perspective of knowledge and action. As for considering each person in himself, there is a distinction. If a man came to us who was strong in body and brave, inspiring all ten of them, but slow of mind,
who does not memorize and does not understand, and came asking, saying: "Is it better for me to devote myself to seeking knowledge or to fight in jihad?" What do we say to him? What? He should fight in jihad? Yes, because the Muslims benefit more from him. If a man was thin, small in body, and cowardly,
but he knows the words of the scholars and what came in the Book and the Sunnah, and came asking, what do we say to him? Jihad or knowledge? Knowledge. Perfect. So we have two preferences. First, the preference of the two actions: which is better? We say seeking knowledge is better, because seeking knowledge is needed by everyone: the Muslim and the disbeliever, the rich and the poor, the man and the woman. As for considering each specific person, there is a distinction. If we see someone more suitable for jihad, we say to him: What? Jihad is better for you. And if we see someone more suitable for knowledge,
Answer : Knowledge, knowledge and reading with a sincere intention, is better. For this reason, Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Nothing is equal to knowledge for one whose intention is sound."
Knowledge is equivalent to jihad in the path of Allah. Listen to the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic:
And it is not for the believers to go forth [to battle] all at once
وَمَا كَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لِيَنفِرُوا كَافَّةًFor there should separate from every division of them a group
فَلَوْلَا نَفَرَ مِن كُلِّ فِرْقَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ طَائِفَةٌto obtain understanding in the religion and warn their people when they return to them that they might be cautious.
لِّيَتَفَقَّهُوا فِي الدِّينِ وَلِيُنذِرُوا قَوْمَهُمْ إِذَا رَجَعُوا إِلَيْهِمْ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَحْذَرُونَThis is from the perspective of knowledge and action. As for considering each person in himself, there is a distinction. If a man came to us who was strong in body and brave, inspiring all ten of them, but slow of mind,
who does not memorize and does not understand, and came asking, saying: "Is it better for me to devote myself to seeking knowledge or to fight in jihad?" What do we say to him? What? He should fight in jihad? Yes, because the Muslims benefit more from him. If a man was thin, small in body, and cowardly,
but he knows the words of the scholars and what came in the Book and the Sunnah, and came asking, what do we say to him? Jihad or knowledge? Knowledge. Perfect. So we have two preferences. First, the preference of the two actions: which is better? We say seeking knowledge is better, because seeking knowledge is needed by everyone: the Muslim and the disbeliever, the rich and the poor, the man and the woman. As for considering each specific person, there is a distinction. If we see someone more suitable for jihad, we say to him: What? Jihad is better for you. And if we see someone more suitable for knowledge,
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، لقاء[7 من 46] هل العلم أفضل أم العبادة؟!! الشيخ ابن عثيمين - مشروع كبار العلماء — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.