As-salaamu'alaykum,
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali also advised Kameel ibn Ziyad that knowledge is better than wealth. This is because knowledge will protect you, whereas you have to protect wealth; knowledge increases with action, whereas wealth decreases with spending; knowledge is a judge or criterion, whereas wealth is subject to rules; the benefit of wealth disappears when wealth is lost, whereas loving the scholars is a sign of religious commitment. Knowledge brings authority to a scholar, and he will have a good name even after he dies, whereas those who accumulate wealth are dead even while they are alive. The names of the scholars will be remembered until the end of time, and although their physical being may be gone, their teachings remain in people's hearts. Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali drew a contrast between knowledge and wealth on the basis that Islamic knowledge is the most important thing for those who focus on the hereafter; for them, it is the ultimate ambition and honour in this world and in the hereafter. What is meant by wealth here is that which a person accumulates because of his love for it, which he does not use in ways that are pleasing to Allah and in accordance with the laws of his Lord. 'Ali justified his view on the following bases:
(a) Knowledge protects a person, whereas the one who owns wealth is the one who has to protect it. The way in which knowledge protects a person is that religious knowledge protects him from the things that lead to doom in this world and in the hereafter. With regard to the hereafter, the meaning is obvious and well known, as this knowledge leads a person to the pleasure of Allah and to paradise, and it helps him to avoid the path that leads to hell. What a great achievement for a person to seek, and what great gains there may be. As for protection from that which leads to doom in this world, it is true spiritual happiness that cannot be achieved except by means of certain faith, before which the entire world and its troubles become insignificant. All of the grief and calamities become coolness and peace for those who have certain faith, because they ignore it and pay no heed, while these misfortunes and disasters turn life into hell for those who regard this life as their capital and profit.
With regard to the meaning of the owner of wealth protecting his wealth, that is quite obvious. How much are the wealthy controlled by worries and fears for their wealth, to the extent that they become sick and they continue to guard their wealth with worry, anxiety and exhausting grief?
(at-Tareekh al-Islami, 11, 12/438)
Knowledge gives insight and enables one to choose what is best, to draw lessons from the nations of the past and to live in accordance with these lessons. Knowledge broadens the horizons and enables one to understand differences of opinions and determine which are acceptable; it helps one to understand the pros and cons and goals, and it teaches one how to prioritise and know what one is doing.
(b) Knowledge grows and becomes more deeply rooted when one acts upon it, because the application of knowledge makes it more deeply entrenched in the mind This is unlike wealth, which decreases as it is spent. What is referred to here is the wealth of people whose aim is this world, who spend that wealth only for the sake of worldly pleasure. As for the wealth of people whose aim is the hereafter, it is subjected to Sharia rulings, so spending from it increases it. The Messenger of Allah
said:
"A person's wealth does not decrease because of charity."
(ibid)
(c) Sharia knowledge is that which leads and judges. It is the true ruler because a person organises his affairs by means of it, and all systems that rule people's lives should be based on it. As for wealth, it is subject to rule, because earning and spending it is subject to rules and regulations, whether they are the rules and regulations of Sharia or otherwise.
(Ibid)
(d) Social relationships that are based on common financial interest fade away as soon as the wealth disappears. It is wealth that forms the basis of those relationships, and they are founded on mutual interests that last only as long as the wealth is present. So when the wealth disappears, those mutual interests go away, too. As for the brotherly relationships that are based on the exchange of religious knowledge between the scholars and those that love knowledge, they will abide forever in this world and in the hereafter. Allah says:
Friends on that Day will be foes one to another except al-Muttaqoon [the pious]
(Qur'an 43: 67).
(e) Islamic knowledge brings to those who have it the love and obedience of the Muslims, which they give willingly without it being imposed on them. This respect continues throughout their lives; their memory is cherished after their death and will continue to be so until Allah inherits the earth and everyone on it, because the people have not lost anything but their images and figures.
If we examine history until the present day, we will find that the names of the scholars from the time of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reverberate throughout history. History has recorded their lives in books, speeches and lessons, whereas the names of those who were great in worldly terms are often forgotten when their lives come to an end, and sometimes their names are already forgotten even while they are still alive.
Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali also advised Kameel ibn Ziyad that knowledge is better than wealth. This is because knowledge will protect you, whereas you have to protect wealth; knowledge increases with action, whereas wealth decreases with spending; knowledge is a judge or criterion, whereas wealth is subject to rules; the benefit of wealth disappears when wealth is lost, whereas loving the scholars is a sign of religious commitment. Knowledge brings authority to a scholar, and he will have a good name even after he dies, whereas those who accumulate wealth are dead even while they are alive. The names of the scholars will be remembered until the end of time, and although their physical being may be gone, their teachings remain in people's hearts. Amir al-Mu'mineen 'Ali drew a contrast between knowledge and wealth on the basis that Islamic knowledge is the most important thing for those who focus on the hereafter; for them, it is the ultimate ambition and honour in this world and in the hereafter. What is meant by wealth here is that which a person accumulates because of his love for it, which he does not use in ways that are pleasing to Allah and in accordance with the laws of his Lord. 'Ali justified his view on the following bases:
(a) Knowledge protects a person, whereas the one who owns wealth is the one who has to protect it. The way in which knowledge protects a person is that religious knowledge protects him from the things that lead to doom in this world and in the hereafter. With regard to the hereafter, the meaning is obvious and well known, as this knowledge leads a person to the pleasure of Allah and to paradise, and it helps him to avoid the path that leads to hell. What a great achievement for a person to seek, and what great gains there may be. As for protection from that which leads to doom in this world, it is true spiritual happiness that cannot be achieved except by means of certain faith, before which the entire world and its troubles become insignificant. All of the grief and calamities become coolness and peace for those who have certain faith, because they ignore it and pay no heed, while these misfortunes and disasters turn life into hell for those who regard this life as their capital and profit.
With regard to the meaning of the owner of wealth protecting his wealth, that is quite obvious. How much are the wealthy controlled by worries and fears for their wealth, to the extent that they become sick and they continue to guard their wealth with worry, anxiety and exhausting grief?
(at-Tareekh al-Islami, 11, 12/438)
Knowledge gives insight and enables one to choose what is best, to draw lessons from the nations of the past and to live in accordance with these lessons. Knowledge broadens the horizons and enables one to understand differences of opinions and determine which are acceptable; it helps one to understand the pros and cons and goals, and it teaches one how to prioritise and know what one is doing.
(b) Knowledge grows and becomes more deeply rooted when one acts upon it, because the application of knowledge makes it more deeply entrenched in the mind This is unlike wealth, which decreases as it is spent. What is referred to here is the wealth of people whose aim is this world, who spend that wealth only for the sake of worldly pleasure. As for the wealth of people whose aim is the hereafter, it is subjected to Sharia rulings, so spending from it increases it. The Messenger of Allah
said: "A person's wealth does not decrease because of charity."
(ibid)
(c) Sharia knowledge is that which leads and judges. It is the true ruler because a person organises his affairs by means of it, and all systems that rule people's lives should be based on it. As for wealth, it is subject to rule, because earning and spending it is subject to rules and regulations, whether they are the rules and regulations of Sharia or otherwise.
(Ibid)
(d) Social relationships that are based on common financial interest fade away as soon as the wealth disappears. It is wealth that forms the basis of those relationships, and they are founded on mutual interests that last only as long as the wealth is present. So when the wealth disappears, those mutual interests go away, too. As for the brotherly relationships that are based on the exchange of religious knowledge between the scholars and those that love knowledge, they will abide forever in this world and in the hereafter. Allah says:
Friends on that Day will be foes one to another except al-Muttaqoon [the pious]
(Qur'an 43: 67).
(e) Islamic knowledge brings to those who have it the love and obedience of the Muslims, which they give willingly without it being imposed on them. This respect continues throughout their lives; their memory is cherished after their death and will continue to be so until Allah inherits the earth and everyone on it, because the people have not lost anything but their images and figures.
If we examine history until the present day, we will find that the names of the scholars from the time of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) reverberate throughout history. History has recorded their lives in books, speeches and lessons, whereas the names of those who were great in worldly terms are often forgotten when their lives come to an end, and sometimes their names are already forgotten even while they are still alive.