The intended meaning of the praiseworthy knowledge in the Book and the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : What is the knowledge that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentions in more than one verse, and that the Messenger (peace be upon him) praises the virtue of in many hadiths? Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says, for example: , . The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) says, for example: . And there are many, many hadiths on this, among them his saying (peace be upon him): . So what is this knowledge that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) praised its people, and then His Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) affirmed that in the many hadiths? Is it merely hearing a statement from a scholar, whatever his status, who explains a verse or explains a hadith with an interpretation that was not preceded by the scholars of the righteous Salaf and those who came after them, or by the mujtahid imams among them and their followers who followed the path of the predecessors? Is this any part of knowledge?
We hear the answer from the words of Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him); for he says:
"Knowledge is what Allah said, what His Messenger said, *** what the Companions said, it is not obfuscation
Knowledge is not setting you up for foolishness *** In contradiction between the Messenger and the opinion of a jurist
No, nor is it denying the attributes and negating them *** out of fear of ta'til (denial of the divine attributes) and tashbih (likening Allah to creation)"
What is knowledge? It is clear, explicit Arabic speech. Knowledge is what Allah said; that is the first rank. Then what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said. Then what the Companions said. And this, of course, when they agree on something, their agreement is a proof, as we clarified in a previous word a few nights ago, citing such as His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . So the path of the believers is the path of the noble Companions; therefore, it is not permissible to contradict them. So knowledge is only taken from the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), then from the saying of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), then from what came to us from his noble Companions.
So if an exegete comes to a verse like this verse: and expands the meaning to an extent that includes spending zakah funds on building mosques, spending zakah funds on building schools, and so on, it is not appropriate for us to submit to such an expansion or such an interpretation, because it is an interpretation by opinion that contradicts the interpretation of the righteous Salaf. If we return to the books of tafsir, especially those that are the mothers and basic references relied upon by all the exegetes who came after them, such as "Tafsir of Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari," the famous exegete, hadith scholar, and historian, or if we return to "Tafsir of al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir al-Dimashqi," also the exegete, hadith scholar, and historian, we will not find such an interpretation in the phrase: to mean the general, comprehensive meaning of all paths of good. Rather, we found in them and in other books of tafsir, and also in books of fiqh: jihad and Hajj to the House of Allah the Sacred. So when we find such an expansion, it is not appropriate for us to accept it, because it is contrary to what our righteous Salaf were upon.
And we have mentioned more than once that when we call people to follow the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), our following of these two sources should be in accordance with what our righteous Salaf were upon in understanding them and applying them in their blessed lives. So when we review the interpretation of this verse and we do not find this expansion, then this interpretation contains a deviation from what the righteous Salaf were upon, and this alone is sufficient for us to discern the error of such an interpretation.