Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-74a

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.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted, in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of knowledge, whether learning it or teaching it, from Allah: “From Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

Abud-Darda (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who follows a path in quest of knowledge, Allah will make the path of Jannah easy to him. The angels lower their wings over the seeker of knowledge, being pleased with what he does. The inhabitants of the heavens and the earth and even the fish in the depth of the oceans seek forgiveness for him. The superiority of the learned man over the devout worshipper is like that of the full moon to the rest of the stars (i.e., in brightness). The learned are the heirs of the Prophets who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham but only that of knowledge; and he who acquires it, has in fact acquired an abundant portion." [Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi] .

سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: من سلك طريقًا يبتغي فيه علمًا سهل الله له طريقًا إلى الجنة، وإن الملائكة لتضع أجنحتها لطالب العلم رضا بما صنع، وإن العالم ليستغفر له من في السموات ومن في الأرض حتى الحيتان في الماء، وفضل العالم على العابد كفضل القمر على سائر الكواكب، وإن العلماء ورثة الأنبياء وإن الأنبياء لم يورثوا دينارًا ولا درهمًا وإنما ورثوا العلم فمن أخذه أخذ بخط وافر

Riyad as-Salihin 1388

Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi”.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) cited, in the chapter on the virtue of knowledge, the hadith of Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: The meaning of this phrase has been explained previously. Also, in the hadith of Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do not be surprised that these animals seek forgiveness from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for the scholar, for Allah the Exalted said in the Noble Qur'an on the tongue of Musa (peace be upon him): So the beasts and insects know their Lord (Mighty and Majestic) and recognize Him Everything glorifies Allah with His praise, even the pebbles heard glorifying Him in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and they were pebbles, for Allah the Exalted is the Lord of all things and their Master. Even Allah said to the heavens and the earth: He addressed them, and they addressed Him meaning: regarding what He commanded you So everything obeys the command of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), except the disbelievers among the children of Adam and the jinn. For this reason, Allah the Exalted stated in His Noble Book that many people prostrate to Allah the Exalted, and many are subject to punishment: [They] do not prostrate. Therefore, the disbeliever does not prostrate to Allah, he does not prostrate to Allah in terms of legislation and worship, but he prostrates to Allah in submission by divine decree, having no escape from what Allah has decreed, as He the Exalted said: The prostration here is the prostration by divine decree. Everyone is submissive to the decree of Allah; no one can overpower Allah the Exalted. Where is the escape? The pre-Islamic poet says:
"Where is the escape, and the God who seeks, *** and the one who is defeated is not the Victor"
So the legislative prostration: many people are subject to punishment and did not prostrate, whereas the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, and the beasts all prostrate to Allah the Exalted. But the disbelievers among the children of Adam and the jinn do not prostrate to Allah the Exalted except in the cosmic, decreed prostration. So The important point is that Allah the Exalted subjected these creatures to seek forgiveness for the scholar. More eloquent than that is that the angels spread their wings for the student of knowledge in approval of what he does. The noble angels whom Allah the Exalted has honored spread their wings for the student of knowledge in approval of what he does. Do you see a greater virtue than this, that the angels, the angels of Allah the Exalted, spread their wings for the student of knowledge in approval of what he does? This is a great virtue. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stated in the hadith of Abu al-Darda that the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. If you asked who inherits from the prophets: the worshippers who bow and prostrate night and day? No. The relatives of the prophets? No. No one inherits from the prophets except the scholars. May Allah make us among them. The scholars are the heirs of the prophets; they inherited knowledge from the prophets, and they inherited practice as the prophets practiced, and they inherited the call to Allah the Exalted, and they inherited guiding creation and directing them to the Shari'ah of Allah. So the scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets did not leave behind a dirham or a dinar. The Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) passed away leaving his daughter Fatimah, his uncle al-Abbas, his cousins, and his wives, and his daughter did not inherit from him, nor his wives, nor his residuary heirs, because the prophets do not leave behind a dirham or a dinar. This is from the wisdom of Allah the Exalted that they do not leave an inheritance, so that no one would say: The Prophet only claimed prophethood in order to possess wealth, and his relatives would inherit it from him after him. So this was cut off. It is said: The Prophet is not inherited from, nor is his son. As for the statement of Zakariyya: The intended meaning is the inheritance of knowledge and prophethood, not the inheritance of wealth. The prophets do not leave behind what they inherited; they did not leave behind a dirham or a dinar, but they left behind this knowledge. O Allah, by Your grace, this is the greatest inheritance. Meaning: with a large, abundant share. Whoever takes this inheritance—and I ask Allah to make me and you among those who take it—this is the true, beneficial inheritance. The scholars are the heirs of the prophets, and the prophets did not leave behind a dirham or a dinar, but they left behind knowledge. Does not a person travel from the east of the earth to its west in order to obtain the wealth his father left for him? And it is a worldly possession. So why do we not travel from the east to the west of the earth to take the knowledge, which is the inheritance of whom? The prophets (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon them). It is fitting for us to strive with all our ability to take the knowledge inherited from the prophets (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon them). Even if the only virtue of knowledge were that the scholar, whenever he does something, feels, along with his sincerity to Allah the Exalted, that his Imam Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is before him, because he worships Allah with insight. When he performs ablution, he feels as if the Messenger is performing ablution before him, and he follows him completely. And so in prayer and other acts of worship. If this were the only virtue of knowledge that came to you, it would be sufficient. How much more so with this great virtue in the hadith of Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him)? And the important point is that the person whom Allah blesses with knowledge has been blessed by Allah with something greater than wealth, sons, wives, palaces, vehicles, and everything else. O Allah, grant us beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and good, abundant provision that makes us independent of Your creation, for You are capable of all things.