The Superiority of Knowledge to Acts of Worship

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘A little knowledge is better than a lot of worship.

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘To sleep having knowledge is better than to pray in ignorance.

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily the knowledgeable man is superior to the [mere] worshipper as the sun is to the stars, and the worshipper is superior to the one who does not worship as the superiority of the moon to the stars.

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘An hour spent by a knowledgeable man lying on his bed thinking about his deeds is better than seventy years spent by the worshipper performing acts of worship.

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The knowledgeable man is superior to the [mere] worshipper by seventy degrees, the distance between two degrees spanning the gallop of a horse for seventy years; and this is because Satan plants an innovation amongst people which the knowledgeable man notices and prohibits, whilst the worshipper attends to his worship neither taking any notice of it nor recognising it.

The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘By the One Who holds Muhammad s soul in His Grasp! Verily one knowledgeable man is more difficult for Satan to bear than seventy worshippers, for the worshipper serves himself whilst the knowledgeable man serves others.

Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘Revising knowledge for an hour is better than staying up the whole night in worship.

Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘The knowledgeable man who is beneficial [to others] as a result of his knowledge is better than seventy thousand worshippers.