The Book of Knowledge: Chapter on the Virtue of Seeking and Teaching Knowledge for the Sake of Allah: Allah the Exalted said: ((And say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”)) And He said:

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
He said, may Allah have mercy on him: “The Book of Knowledge, Chapter on the Virtue of Seeking and Teaching Knowledge for the Sake of Allah. Allah the Exalted said:

and say, "My Lord, increase me in knowledge."

وقل رب زدني علمًا

[Taha 20:114]

And He said:

Say, "Are those who know equal to those who do not know?"

قل هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون

[Az-Zumar 39:9]

And He said:

Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge, by degrees

يرفع الله الذين آمنوا منكم والذين أوتوا العلم درجات

[Al-Mujadila 58:11]

And He said:

Only those fear Allah, from among His servants, who have knowledge.

إنما يخشى الله من عباده العلماء

[Fatir 35:28]

”.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author, al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said in his book *Riyad al-Salihin*: “Chapter on the Virtue of Seeking and Teaching Knowledge for the Sake of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic”. The knowledge referred to in the texts regarding its virtue, the reward for it, the elevation of its people, and their being the heirs of the prophets is only the knowledge of the Shari'ah, in creed and practice. It is not knowledge related to worldly matters, such as mathematics, geometry, and the like. The knowledge intended is the religious knowledge that the legislations brought, and this is the knowledge for which one who attains it is praised, and for which one who teaches it and learns it is praised. Knowledge is a jihad, a jihad in the path of Allah, and it is its equal in the Book of Allah. Upon it, jihad and the rest of Islam are built, because one who does not know cannot act in the required manner. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: meaning: Why did not a group from every faction of the believers go forth in jihad, while another group remained behind to gain understanding in the religion, and to warn their people when they returned to them, so that they might beware? Thus, Allah the Exalted made jurisprudence in the religion of Allah equal to jihad in the path of Allah; indeed, it is more important than it, because a mujahid cannot fight, a worshipper cannot pray, one who pays zakah cannot pay it, a fasting person cannot fast, a pilgrim cannot perform Hajj, one performing 'Umrah cannot perform it, an eater cannot eat, a drinker cannot drink, a sleeper cannot sleep, or one waking up cannot wake up, except through knowledge. Therefore, knowledge is the foundation of everything. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: There is no difference between the mujahid who straightens the strings of his bow and the student of knowledge who extracts legal issues from the depths of books. Each of them works for the jihad in the path of Allah and for explaining the Shari'ah of Allah to His servants. For this reason, the author, may Allah have mercy on him, followed the chapter on jihad with the chapter on knowledge to indicate that it is like it. Indeed, some scholars preferred it over jihad in the path of Allah. The correct view is that there is a distinction in this: for some people, jihad is better for them, and for others, seeking knowledge is better. If a man is strong, brave, and bold, but his share in knowledge is small, with little memorization and little understanding, making it difficult for him to receive knowledge, then we say that jihad is better for him. If the opposite is the case—a man who does not have that physical strength or mental courage, but who has memorization, understanding, and ijtihad—then seeking knowledge is better for him. If the two are equal, then some scholars preferred seeking knowledge because it is the foundation, and because all people benefit from it, near and far, and because the living and those born after benefit from it, and its owner benefits from it in his life and after his death, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: All people need knowledge, prophets and non-prophets alike; they all need knowledge. For this reason, Allah commanded His Prophet to say: Thus, the messengers need knowledge and increase in it, and need to ask Allah, the Exalted, to increase them. Those below the prophets are even more in need of it. Therefore, it is fitting for a servant to constantly ask Allah to increase him in knowledge. However, if he asks Allah to increase him in knowledge, he must strive in the means by which knowledge is obtained. As for saying: while not doing the means, this is not wisdom nor correctness. This is like one who says, “O Allah, grant me a child,” but does not marry. Where would the child come from? So, if you ask Allah for something, you must strive in its means by which it is obtained, because Allah is Wise and He linked effects to their causes. And this is the verse: It is evidence of the virtue of knowledge. Allah did not say to His Prophet, “Say, ‘My Lord, increase me in wealth,’” but rather He said to him: And He said to him regarding this world: Ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and calling to Allah with insight.