Part 1

By Imaam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin 'Alee Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadee [Died: 463H]

With Verification and notes by Imaam Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen Al-Albaanee

1 1. A Brief Biography of the Author 3

2. A Point of Benefit 5

3. Introduction to the Treatise 7

4. Text of the Treatise 9

5. The Censure of Those who do not Act upon Knowledge, but rather Lean towards its Opposite, And to the Contrary of what Knowledge Mandates 23

6. The Disapproval of Seeking Knowledge in order to Compete and Debate with Others, to Fulfill Personal Goals, and to Receive Compensation from it 32

7. The Warning, Threat and Severe Caution against those Who Recite the Qur'aan to Gain Repute and Fame and Not in Order to Act on it and Gain Reward 35

8. What has been Stated concerning Memorizing Its Letters yet Neglecting its Commandments 37

9. The Disapproval of Acquiring Knowledge for Other than the Sake of Worship 40

10. The Dislike of Seeking hadith in order to Boast, Hold Gatherings or Gain Followers And Companions through Narration 42

11. Those who Disliked Learning Grammar (Nahu) Due to what that Breeds from Arrogance and Pride 48

12. Abiding by the Guarantee Of what will Occur in the Hereafter 50

13. Good Deeds are the Provisions and Useful Supplies on the Day of Final Return 51

14. Taking Advantage of Youth, Health and Free Time and Hastening to do Good Deeds before the Occurrence of that which will cause these Things to Cease 53

15. The Disapproval of Procrastinating 60

16. Glossary of Terms Used 62

He was the Shaikh, the Imaam Abu Bakr Ahmad bin 'Alee bin Thaabit, better known as Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadee, the author of many books, the most famous of which was Taareekh Baghdad. 1

He was born in the year 392H. His father was the khateeb (lecturer) of (the village of) Darzijaan, from the noblemen of 'Iraq.2 He had high hopes for his son of his (AlKhateeb), so he narrated hadith to him while he was still young, in the year 403H.

Afterward, Al-Khateeb desired to seek knowledge of the Science of hadith, so he traveled for that purpose to the different regions (of 'Iraq). He excelled in his studies, wrote books and collected narrations. And he was at the forefront in all of the disciplines of the Science of hadith.

He heard from a large amount of reliable hadith Scholars in various lands, such as Baghdad, Basrah, Naisapur, Asbahaan, Dinawar, Hamdaan, Koofah, the Haramain (two holy cities of Makkah and Madeenah), Damascus, Jerusalem and other places. He arrived at Syria in 451H and lived there for eleven years.

Many of the great scholars of hadith reported from him, such as his teacher Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ahmad Al-Barqaanee, the Shaikh of Baghdad.

"Abu Bakr Al-Khateeb was one of the last prominent figures whom we witnessed having knowledge, memorization, precision, accuracy in (reporting) the hadith of Allaah's Messenger, mastery concerning its defects and chains of narration, and knowledge of its authentic and weak, as well as its solitary, rejected, and discarded."

Then he said: "There wasn't found amongst the people of Baghdad, after AdDaaraqutnee, anyone like him."

He wrote on the subject of Fiqh and gained mastery in it. Then he preoccupied himself with hadith, and he achieved supremacy in that. He was also eloquent in speech, loud-voiced,3 possessed a good recitation and had beautiful penmanship.

He gave away all of his money, which consisted of two hundred deenaars, in charity to the people of knowledge and the poor. He even wrote in his Last Will that he would give his clothes in charity. He would also donate his books to the Muslims. This was such that nothing remained with him.

1 Translator's Note: Al-Khateeb Al-Baghdaadee is also known for his other celebrated classical works such as al-Faqeeh wal-Mutafaqqih, al-Jaami' Li-Akhlaaq-ir-Raawee wa Adaab as-Saami', Taqyeed-ul- 'Ilm, ar-Rihlahfee Talab-il-hadith, Sharaf Ashaab-il-hadith, Iqtidaa-ul- 'Ilm al- 'Amal (this book), all of which are compilations on the merits, etiquettes, manners and principles of seeking and spreading knowledge, as well as guidelines, advice and an encouragement regarding that. 2 Translator's Note: Al-Khateeb took on this nickname due to his father's position as the khateeb (Friday preacher) of the masjid in Darzeejaan, a position he held for about twenty years. 3 Translator's Note: Ibn Naasir reported: "When Al-Khateeb would read hadith in the mosque of Damascus, his voice would be heard from one end of the mosque to the other, and he would speak in the pure form of Arabic."

4 Translator's Note: One of the amazing stories from Al-Khateeb's legacy, which brought him widespread fame and reputation as an authority in hadith, was the incident when he was called on by his colleague, Ibn Al-Muslimah, minister to the Khaleefah, Al-Qaa'im bi-Amrillaah, to verify a letter that the Jews claimed was from Allaah's Messenger, written by the hand of 'Alee bin Abee Taalib and witnessed by several Companions, which abolished the tax (jizyah) imposed upon the Jews of Khaibar. After reviewing the document, Al-Khateeb said: "This is a forgery." When asked how he came to that conclusion, he responded: "Due to the testimony in it of Mu'aawiyah bin Abee Sufyaan, since Mu'aawiyah became Muslim on the Day of the Conquest of Makkah (i.e. Ramadaan, 8H) while Khaibar was conquered in 7H. The document also contains the testimony of Sa'ad bin Mu'aadh, and he died during the battle against Banu Quraidhah, which occurred two years before Khaibar." Upon hearing this, the minister Ibn Al-Muslimah rejected the document and ordered the tax to be collected from the Jews of Khaibar. And the status of Al-Khateeb grew and became widespread to the point that the Khaleefah heard of him and granted him permission to dictate narrations in the Central Mosque of Al-Mansoor.

Someone may say: "If the author was at such a high level of knowledge of what narrations were authentic from what were weak, why do we see in this book of his, as well as his other books, that he has 'filled them with weak narrations?"

The answer is: The fundamental principle, according to the scholars of hadith, is that if a Muhaddith lists a hadith with its chain of narration, then its accountability is absolved from him, and there is no responsibility upon him in his narration of it. This is only so long as he includes along with that the means through which the (next) scholar would be able to distinguish if the hadith is authentic or not, and that is the isnaad (i.e. the chain of narration).

Yes, it would be better if they had followed up each hadith with an explanation of its level of authenticity or weakness. However, the situation (at that time) shows that this was not possible with respect to each one of them and all of his narrations, in spite of their vast amount. This was due to many reasons of which this is not the place to delve into them now.

However, I will mention the most important one amongst them. And it is due to the fact that the authenticity or weakness of many ahaadeeth is not readily visible unless all of their paths and chains of narration are gathered together. This is one of the things that will assist one in coming to realize the defects of a hadith and which ahaadeeth are authentic based on supporting narrations.

If all of the scholars of hadith were to devote their attention to verifying and distinguishing the authentic narrations from the weak, they would not, and Allaah knows best, be able to preserve for us this tremendous wealth of hadith and its chains of narration.

This is why the main concern of a majority of them was geared to just narrating, except in those situations where Allaah willed. And the rest of them devoted themselves to criticizing and verifying (hadith), along with memorizing and narrating them - and how few they are.

"For every nation there is a direction in which they face. So hasten towards all that is good." [Surah Al-Baqarah: 148]

Because of the fact that many people today don't know the chains of narration and their narrators, nor are they aware of what is authentic among them from what is weak, we felt that we must provide a verification and commentary on this, as well as other books, covering the grades of the ahaadeeth in it that have been "raised" to sayings of the Prophet, and some of the narrations that have been "suspended"5 as sayings of a Companion or Taabi'ee, while at times providing a discussion on some of their narrators.

5 Translator's Note: Due to the nature of this book and its verification, the reader will encounter many terms related to the Science of hadith, which have been left transliterated and untranslated. Definitions and explanations for these terms can be found in the Glossary section at the end of the book, by Allaah's Will.

5 them the ability to act upon what we have knowledge of. Verily, He is the One who grants success.

We give thanks to Allaah, the One free of all defects, for having guided us.And we ask Him to grant us the ability to act upon what He has given us knowledge of, for indeed, goodness cannot be attained except by His success and assistance. Whomsoever Allaah leads astray, there is no one from His creation that can guide him.

May Allaah send His praises upon Muhammad, the chief of the first and the last, as well as his brothers from among the prophets and messengers, and those who follow the light (i.e. the Qur'aan) that was revealed to him until the Day of Recompense.

I advice you O seeker of knowledge to have a sincere and pure intention in your search for knowledge, and that you exert yourself in acting upon what it mandates (from action). This is since knowledge is a tree and action is its fruit. And one can never be considered knowledgeable so long as he doesn't act upon what he knows.

It has also been stated: "Knowledge is a parent and action is its offspring" and 'Knowledge comes with action, while narrating comes with investigating."

So do not feel satisfied with actions so long as you are lacking in knowledge, nor feel satisfied with knowledge so long as you fall short in producing actions. Rather, combine between them both, even if your share two is small.

And there is nothing worse than a scholar whose knowledge the people abandon because of the corruption of his ways, or an ignorant person lose ignorance the people accept because of what they see from his worship.

So a little of this (knowledge) along with a little of that (action) is what is lost likely to save you in the end, when Allaah bestows His mercy upon His servant and completes His favour upon him. But as for laziness and negligence, love for ease and comfort, preferring the easy life, showing indifference, and inclining towards leisure and relaxation, then the results of these characteristics are blameworthy, detestable and disastrous.

Knowledge leads to action, just as action leads to salvation. So if the action falls short of the knowledge, then the knowledge becomes a burden upon the one who possesses it. And we seek refuge in Allaah from knowledge that turns into a burden, brings about humiliation, and becomes a shackle on the neck of the one who possesses it.

Some of the wise people have said: "Knowledge is the servant of action" and "Action is the main objective of knowledge - so if it were not for action, knowledge would not be sought, and if it were not for knowledge, action would not be sought. And if I were to not follow the truth out of ignorance of it, that would be more beloved to me than if I were to not follow it out of intentionally abstaining from it."

Sahl bin Muzaahim, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: "The matter is tighter upon a scholar than when one clenches his fist. Even though an ignorant person is not