Sayyiduna Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

“I fear for you that a man will acquire knowledge of the Qur’an. Until, when his being a scholar of the Qur’an becomes well-known and he becomes a guardian of Islam (its teachings), then whatever Allah wills will happen, and he will change it, he will slip away from it and throw it behind his back. He will run after his neighbor with a sword and accuse him of shirk (associating partners with Allah).”

The narrator says: I asked,“O Messenger of Allah! Which of them is closer to being a mushrik (polytheist): the one upon whom the accusation is made, or the one making the accusation?”He replied:“The one making the accusation.”

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) saying: "O Allah! I ask You for beneficial knowledge, and I seek refuge with You from knowledge that does not benefit."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit, from an action that is not elevated, from a heart that does not fear, and from a supplication that is not heard. (I seek refuge in You from all these)."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Whoever sets out on a path to seek knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him, and whoever's actions slow him down, his lineage will not speed him up."

Zirr narrates: I went to the service of Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him), and he inquired: Why have you come? So Zirr replied: I have come to seek knowledge. Then Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Whoever leaves his house to seek knowledge, the angels, being pleased with his action, spread their wings for him."

Sayyiduna Abu Waqid Al-Laythi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Once the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sitting in the mosque and some people were present with him. Three men came; two of them came towards the Prophet and one man went away. When the two reached the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), they greeted him with salam. One of them saw a space in the gathering and sat there, while the other sat behind the people. As for the third man, he turned away and left.

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) finished his talk, he said:

“Shall I tell you about these three people? One of them sought refuge with Allah, so Allah granted him refuge. The second felt shy, so Allah was shy with him. And the third turned away, so Allah turned away from him.”

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: He heard the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "Whoever comes to our mosque to acquire or teach knowledge of goodness, he is like one who strives in the way of Allah. And whoever comes for any other reason, his example is like that of a person who keeps an eye on something that does not belong to him."

Kathir bin Qais narrates: I was sitting with Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque of Damascus. A man came and said: O Sayyiduna Abu Darda’! I have come to you from the city of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask you about a hadith. I have learned that you narrate this hadith from the Prophet (peace be upon him). Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: Have you not come for any other purpose? Have you not come for trade? Have you come only for this hadith? He replied: Yes. So Sayyiduna Abu Darda’ (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say:“Whoever sets out on a path to seek knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him because of it, and the angels, pleased with the seeker of knowledge, spread their wings for him. Indeed, everything in the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, seek forgiveness for the scholar. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over all the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the heirs of the Prophets. The Prophets do not leave behind dinars or dirhams as inheritance; they leave behind knowledge. Whoever acquires it, acquires a great share.”

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) In this hadith, there is a clear statement that the virtue we have mentioned will be attained by those scholars who teach the knowledge of the Prophet (peace be upon him); it will not be attained by those who teach other sciences. Have you not reflected that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:“The scholars are the heirs of the Prophets.”So the Prophets only leave knowledge as inheritance, and the knowledge of our Prophet is his Sunnah. Whoever is deprived of its understanding will not be an heir of the Prophets.

Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "When Allah intends good for someone, He grants him understanding of the religion."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Envy is permissible only towards two types of people: one is the person whom Allah has granted wealth and given him the ability to spend it in the path of truth; the other is the person whom Allah has granted wisdom, and he judges according to it and teaches it to others."