1361 - ذَمُّ عِلمٍ لا يَنفَعُ‏

1361. THE REPREHENSIBILITY OF KNOWLEDGE THAT IS OF NO USE

4564.رسولُ اللَّهِ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله - كانَ يَقولُ - : اللَّهُمَّ إنّي أعوذُ بِكَ مِن عِلمٍ لا يَنفَعُ ، ومِن قَلبٍ لا يَخشَعُ ، ومِن نَفسٍ لا تَشبَعُ ، ومِن دَعوَةٍ لا يُستَجابُ لَها .¹

4564. The Prophet (SAWA) used to say, ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge that does not benefit, from a heart that is not fearful, and from a self that is never sated, from a supplication that is unheard.’²

4565.الإمامُ عليٌّ عليه السلام : وَاعلَم أ نَّهُ لا خَيرَ في عِلمٍ لا يَنفَعُ ، ولا يُنتَفَعُ بِعِلمٍ لا يَحُقُّ تَعَلُّمُهُ .³

4565.Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘And know that there is no good in knowledge that is of no use, and that one cannot benefit from knowledge that is not worthy of being learnt.’⁴

4566.الإمامُ الكاظمُ عليه السلام : دَخَلَ رَسولُ اللَّهِ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله المَسجِدَ فإذا جَماعَةٌ قَد أطافوا بِرَجُلٍ ، فقالَ : ما هذا ؟ فقيلَ : عَلّامَةٌ ، قالَ : وما العَلّامَةُ ؟ قالوا : أعلَمُ النّاسِ بِأنسابِ العَرَبِ ووَقائعِها ، وأيّامِ الجاهِلِيَّةِ ، وبِالأشعارِ والعَرَبِيَّةِ ، فقالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى اللَّه عليه وآله : ذاكَ عِلمٌ لا يَضُرُّ مَن جَهِلَهُ ، ولا يَنفَعُ مَن عَلِمَهُ .⁵

4566. Imam al-Kazim (AS) narrated, ‘The Prophet (SAWA) once entered the mosque to find a large group of people gathered around a man, so he asked, ‘Who is this?’ to which they replied, ‘A most learned scholar (‘allama).’ He then asked, ‘And what is a most learned scholar?’ to which they replied, ‘[He is] the most knowledgeable of all people about Arab ancestry and events, and pre-Islamic history, and Arab poetry.’ So the Prophet said, ‘That is knowledge which neither harms one who remains ignorant of it nor avails one who knows it.’⁶