Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-74a

The reciter: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of knowledge, both learning and teaching, for the sake of Allah: "From Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

he heard God’s messenger saying, “God brighten a man who hears something from us and conveys it to others as he heard it, for many a one to whom it is brought retains it better than the one who heard it.”

سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: نضر الله امرءا سمع منا شيئا، فبلغه كما سمعه فرب مبلغ أوعى من سامع

Mishkat al-Masabih 230, 231

Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is a good, authentic hadith. And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who is asked about knowledge (of religion) and conceals it, will be bridled with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection."

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: من سئل عن علم فكتمه ألجم يوم القيامة بلجام من نار

Riyad as-Salihin 1390

Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi narrated it, and he said: It is a good hadith."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) cited in the chapter on the virtue of knowledge, both learning and teaching, for the sake of Allah, several hadiths in this chapter, many of which have already been mentioned. Among them is the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: meaning: a statement. "May Allah make radiant" means: He will beautify it, because "naddara" with the letter dhad is from the root of beauty. From this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: "radiant" means: beautiful. meaning: looking with the eye to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). May Allah make me and you among them. Also, Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) said: meaning: beauty and joy; beauty in the faces and joy in the hearts. Here he says: meaning: a statement. The intended meaning is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) prayed for the person who hears a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and conveys it as he heard it, that Allah the Exalted will beautify his face on the Day of Resurrection. This is as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, which is known. You find, for example, among the scholars, one who is a narrator; he narrates the hadith, memorizes it, and delivers it, but he does not know its meaning. He conveys it to another scholar who knows the meaning, understands it, and deduces many rulings from the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), thereby benefiting people. It has been mentioned previously that the first is like the land that held the water, so it retained the water, and people drank from it and drew water from it, but it does not grow. And the land that is a meadow that grows is the jurists who knew the hadiths, derived jurisprudence from them, and deduced the legal rulings from them. As for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah after this, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) threatened the one who is asked about knowledge and conceals it. He threatened him that he will be bridled on the Day of Resurrection with a bridle of fire, meaning: a bridle of fire will be placed on his mouth. We ask Allah for safety from that, because he concealed what Allah revealed after being asked about it. And if you know that the questioner is asking for guidance, it is not permissible for you to prevent him. But if you know that he is asking to test you, and his intention is not to seek guidance to know and act, then you have the choice: if you wish, teach him, and if you wish, do not teach him. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted: Because Allah knew that these people would come to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to test him, not in order to act upon his words, but to see what he has. So if you know that this man came to ask you about knowledge only as a test, not seeking the truth, then you have the choice: if you wish, do it, issue a fatwa for him, and teach him; and if you wish, do not issue a fatwa for him and do not teach him. Likewise, if you know that issuing a fatwa will result in great harm, there is no harm in postponing the fatwa. Do not conceal it, but there is no harm in postponing the fatwa to a time when there is benefit in clarifying it, because sometimes a fatwa, if issued, would be a cause of evil and corruption. So if you see that it is a cause of evil and corruption and you delay the answer, there is no blame on you for that. And Allah is the One who grants success.