Chapter 8 - On Science, Scientists, Teaching, Learning and Using Science

“When God the Almighty wishes well for someone, He will grant him religious knowledge.”

“Science is nobler to me than worship, and the noblest part of your religion is piety.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: Whoever acquires knowledge for God's sake, and practices it and teaches it to others for God's sake will be highly respected in the high ranks of the heavens. About him they will say: he learned for God's sake, practiced for God's sake and taught for God's sake.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said the following regarding the holy verse: “Those truly fear God among His servants who have knowledge” [The Holy Quran: Fatir 35:28], “What is meant by those who have knowledge is those whose words and deeds are the same. If your deeds are not the same as your words, then you do not have knowledge.”

“O' Prophet of God! What is knowledge?” The Prophet (a.s) said: “Trying to hear.” He asked: “What else?” The Prophet (a.s) said: “Listening.” He asked: “What else?” The Prophet (a.s) said: “Learning.” He asked “What else?” The Prophet (a.s) said: “Practicing what is learned.” He asked: “What else?” The Prophet (a.s) said: “Teaching it to other people.”

“Try to be either a student or scientist, and do not waste your time having fun.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “Rush to learn science. I swear by the One who controls my life that what you learn about the lawful and the forbidden from an honest man is worth more than the whole world with all its gold and silver.”

God's Prophet (a.s) said: “Learning science is incumbent upon all Muslim men and women. Know that God loves students.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “I would certainly punish any Shiite youth who is brought to me and has not acquired religious knowledge.”

Imam Ali (a.s) said: “Any scientist who hides his knowledge will be resurrected as the worst smelling creature in the Hereafter. He will be damned by any moving creatures on Earth, even the tiniest ones.”

“The rights of a scientist include the following: 1- You should not ask him too many questions, 2- You should not pull on his clothes. 3- When you go to see him and there are some people with him greet them all and give him especial greetings. 4- Sit in front of him, and do not sit behind him. 5- Do not wink, or point with your fingers. 6- Do not talk too much, or argue with him that others have said things opposed to his views. 7- Do not get upset if you have to wait a while to talk with him, since his case is similar to the case of a palm tree, that is, you have to wait for a while before you can get some dates. The reward of a scientist is higher than that of a fighter in the way of God, a worshipper or one who stays up at night to worship. Whenever a scientist passes away, a gap is created in Islam which cannot be compensated until the Resurrection Day.”

“One who does things without knowledge will make more corruption than improvement.”

to Imam Sadiq (a.s): “Can any one stand up for someone else as a sign of respect?” Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “This act is not recommended, except when done in respect for men knowledgeable in religion.”

“When you sit with a scientist, be more eager to listen than talk, learn how to listen well, as well as you learn how to talk well, and never interrupt anyone who is talking.”

“One who acts without any wisdom is similar to one who goes astray. He will get farther away from his destination the more he rushes.”

Prophet of God (a.s) said: “Ask questions from the scientists, talk with the wise people, and associate with the poor people.”

“As long as the Earth exists, there is always a scientist on it to distinguish between the right and the wrong.”

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: “Learn wisdom even from the infidels.”

“There are two strange things. One is to accept wise words you hear from an unwise man, and the other one is to forgive saying unwise words when spoken by a wise man.”

“Two kinds of people hurt me in this world: corrupt men who speak eloquently, and ignorant worshippers. People from the first group use nice words to cover up their wicked acts, and the second group hide their ignorance with their worshipping. Avoid sinful scientists and ignorant worshippers, since they will fool those who are attracted to them. I heard the Prophet (a.s) say: O' Ali! The destruction of my nation is through the hands of eloquent hypocrites.”

Prophet of God (a.s) said: “Whoever studies for the sake of God will become humbler when he makes a scientific achievement. Then he will be more humble with the people, and will fear God more, and will strive more for the religion. Such a scientist will benefit from his knowledge and will also help others benefit from it. But whoever seeks knowledge in order to attain worldly gains, higher status, and a higher post near the king will get haughtier the more he learns, and will become debased near the people. He will get haughty before God, and will disobey religion. Such a person will not benefit from his knowledge and will not have any support for himself, and will only get sorry, and debased on the Resurrection Day.”

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: “O' believers! Knowledge and manners are the price for your life. Try to learn knowledge and acquire proper manners so that your worth increases and position raises. This is because knowledge will guide you towards your Lord, and you can serve your Lord better with proper manners, thereby you acquire the position of nearness to God. Accept advice to be saved from the torture of Hell.”

The Prophet of God (a.s) said: “Go to acquire knowledge, even if it is in China, since acquiring knowledge is incumbent upon all Muslims.”

A man went to see the Prophet (a.s) and said: “O' Prophet of God! When the visit to a scientist is concurrent with a funeral procession, which one do you prefer to attend? God's Prophet (a.s) said: “If there are some people to participate in the funeral procession, I prefer to go visit the scientist since it is better than attending a thousand funeral processions, and visiting a thousand patients, and worshipping a thousand nights, and fasting for a thousand days, and giving a thousand Durhams in charity, and going to the unobligatory pilgrimage a thousand times, and attending a thousand unobligatory wars in the way of God using your wealth and life. How can all these equal participating in a meeting with a scientist? Do you not know that God is obeyed by the means of knowledge? And that He is worshipped through knowledge? The good of this world and the Hereafter is accompanied by knowledge, and the wickedness of this world and the Hereafter is accompanied by ignorance.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “God will grant the reward of seventy Prophets to whomever learns a branch of science in order to teach it to others for God's sake.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “It is better to learn a branch of science than perform a thousand units of recommended prayers, even if you do not you practice what you learn.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “God will gather all the people in one place on the Resurrection Day and will weigh their deeds. The blood of the martyrs will be weighed against the pen of the scientists, and the pen of the scientists will be superior to the blood of the martyrs.”

The Noble Prophet (a.s) said: “The most knowledgeable person is one who combines the knowledge of the people with his own knowledge, and the most valuable person is the one with the most knowledge. The least worthy person is the least knowledgeable one. Those who are more knowledgeable about the truth are more deserving of it, and the strongest person is the one who avoids the ignorant people the most.”

“This knowledge is neither of any use to one who honors it, nor of any harm to one who does not.”

“O' Commander of the Faithful! Teach us who a real religious jurisprudent is.” Imam Ali (a.s) replied: “OK, I will tell you about a real religious jurisprudent. He is one who does not grant the people freedom to commit sins, and does not make the people lose their hope in God, and does not make them feel secure from the plots of God. He will not abandon the Quran due to his attraction to something else. Know that there is no use in reciting the Quran without thinking about what you read. Know that there is no use in knowledge without pondering. Also know that there is no use in any worshipping which is not accompanied by piety.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “Be humble to whomever you learn from and whoever you teach.”

“Both the teacher and the student are partners in reward. There are two rewards for the teacher and the scientist, and one reward for the student. And there is no good in anything else.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “The birds in the sky, and all the fish and other sea creatures will ask for God's forgiveness for students until the Resurrection Day.”

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) went up the pulpit in Kufa and in a sermon said: “O' people! Beware that the perfection of religion depends upon acquiring knowledge and putting it into practice. It is more important for you to acquire knowledge than collect wealth. Wealth has been divided between you by the Just One. He has guaranteed it. He will keep His promise. However, He has stored knowledge in the hearts of some, and has ordered you to go and seek knowledge. Beware that excessive wealth will corrupt your religion, and will make you ruthless. However having extensive knowledge and putting it into practice will improve the religion and help you get into Heaven. Wealth will make you greedy, and it decreases when used, but knowledge will increase the more you spread it. The charity for knowledge is through its distribution among those who wish to acquire it or to narrate it. Know that God will reward associating with and following those who possess religious knowledge. Obeying them will increase the good, and eliminate the evil, and is a form of savings for the believers. It will be a source of honor during life and death, and fame after death. Know that wealth will get destroyed, as does its owner, but knowledge and those who possess it will last forever. Knowledge will rule, but wealth will be ruled.”

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said the following in one of his sermons: “When a word is said with no strings attached, it will be understood by those who hear it. They will believe it, follow it and attain prosperity.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “There is an alms tax for everything. The alms tax for knowledge is teaching.”

“Whoever puts what he knows into practice will not need what he does not know.”

“Whoever acts and talks likewise is a perfect man, and whoever says something but does something else will only blame himself.”

“knowledge and practicing it are associated with each other. One who knows something practices it, and one who practices something knows it. Knowledge calls for practice, and will remain if one practices it, but it will depart if not put into practice.”

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) went up the pulpit and said: “O' people! Put what you learn into practice, per chance you may be guided. A scientist who acts against his knowledge is similar to a wandering ignorant person who will not become conscious due to his ignorance. This scientist will even be more sorry about the knowledge that he has abandoned than the ignorant person who is wandering in his ignorance. Both are wandering asleep. Both are lost without any goals. Both are at a loss. Do not let any doubt overcome you. Do not doubt (about God) so that you do not become an infidel. Do not l et yourselves b e fooled ab out the truth, since then you will be losers. Part of the truth is to understand religion. If you understand, you will not be haughty. The one who is most concerned about himself is the one who best obeys God. The one who is most treacherous to himself is the one who disobeys God the most. Whoever obeys God is secure, and will be rewarded, but whoever disobeys God will be sorry.”

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: “Do not acquire knowledge to seek the worldly goods, since God does not consider “those who know and those who do not know” [The Holy Quran: Zumar 39:9] equal in retribution.

Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: “Whoever says God and the Prophet knows best when asked about something which he does not know is a pious scientist.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “There are three groups of students, and they can be distinguished as follows: 1- Some students seek knowledge as a weapon for ignorance and for fighting. 2- Some students seek knowledge to fool others and to get ahead. 3- Some students seek knowledge because they want to learn and understand. The first group are quarrelsome ones, and start to talk in gatherings and talk about science, and praise patience, and fake humbleness but are void of piety. God has squashed their noses and cut their backs. The second group are tricky and flattering. They act to be higher up than their equals in rank, and they belittle themselves for the rich people. They will respect the rich, and disobey their own religious beliefs. Therefore God has made them blind, and eliminated their products from among those of the scientists. The third group who want to understand are sad and stay up at night. They leave their beds and stand up in the dark of the night. They act with fear, worry and want. They are busy with themselves, and really know how the people are. They are even afraid of their most trustworthy brothers. Therefore God will establish them firmly, and will grant them immunity in the Hereafter.”

“Whoever wants the traditions for worldly gains will receive no benefits in the Hereafter. But God will grant the good of this world and the Hereafter to whoever seeks them for the good of the Hereafter.”

Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: “Whoever gets any money or gift for this knowledge will never gain any benefits from this knowledge.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “If you realize that a scientist loves this world, accuse him regarding your religion since whoever loves something is its slave. God revealed the following to Prophet David: “Do not let a scientist who is attracted to the world act as a middle man between you and I, since he will prevent you from loving Me. Such people are the robbers of those who seek Me, and the least that I shall do is to deprive them of the sweetness of My supplication.”

Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: “No believer's death is more pleasant for Satan than the death of a scientist.”

“Two groups of people will never be satiated: Those who seek wealth, and those who seek knowledge. Those who are content with what God has made allowable for them from this world will remain healthy, but those who obtain worldly goods through forbidden means will be ruined, unless they repent and return. Those who learn knowledge from the scientists and act accordingly will be saved, but those who only want worldly gains and seek knowledge, will only get worldly gains.”

“There are two groups of scientists. Those who practice their knowledge are prosperous, but those who abandon their knowledge get destroyed. The residents of Hell will be bothered with the bad smell of the scientists who have not put their knowledge into practice. But there are those who are most sorry. They invite others to God, their call is accepted by others who then obey God and are taken to Heaven by God. However, the caller himself is taken to Hell by God for not acting, and following their whims will be the most sorry. I fear two things concerning you. The first is following your whims, and the second is having high aspirations since following your whims will prevent you from accepting the truth, and having high aspirations will make you forget the Hereafter.”

jurisprudents in Kufa said: “On the Resurrection Day, they shall bring a man with a mouth-piece made of fire. God will tell him: O' My servant! What made you hide your knowledge?” He will say: “O' my Lord! I feared your servants.” God will say: “I deserved more to be feared”, and then God orders him to be thrown into the Fire.” Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “I swear by God that the jurisprudents of Kufa are liars. If this was true, God would have not praised -in His Book- the believer in the family of Pharaoh who covered up his faith for six hundred years since he was Pharaoh's treasurer.”