Al-Kafi · Hadith 5

The Book on Virtue of Knowledge · Chapter on the reward for the scholars and those who seek knowledge · Volume 1, book 2, chapter 4, Hadith 5

Original Arabic text

5ـ الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ رَفَعَهُ عَنْ أَبِي حَمْزَةَ عَنْ عَلِيِّ بن الحسين (عَلَيْهما السَّلام) قَالَ لَوْ يَعْلَمُ النَّاسُ مَا فِي طَلَبِ الْعِلْمِ لَطَلَبُوهُ وَلَوْ بِسَفْكِ الْمُهَجِ وَخَوْضِ اللُّجَجِ إِنَّ الله تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَى دَانِيَالَ أَنَّ أَمْقَتَ عَبِيدِي إِلَيَّ الْجَاهِلُ الْمُسْتَخِفُّ بِحَقِّ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ التَّارِكُ لِلاقْتِدَاءِ بِهِمْ وَأَنَّ أَحَبَّ عَبِيدِي إِلَيَّ التَّقِيُّ الطَّالِبُ لِلثَّوَابِ الْجَزِيلِ اللازِمُ لِلْعُلَمَاءِ التَّابِعُ لِلْحُلَمَاءِ الْقَابِلُ عَنِ الْحُكَمَاءِ.

Published English translation

5. Al-Husayn b. Muhammad narrated from ‘Ali b. Muhammad b. Sa‘d, who raised it to Abu Hamza, from ‘Ali b. al-Husayn (a.s), who said: "If people knew the value of seeking knowledge, they would pursue it even at the cost of shedding their own blood and crossing deep waters. Indeed, Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, revealed to Daniel: 'The most despised of My servants to Me is the ignorant one who belittles the rights of the scholars and neglects following them. And the most beloved of My servants to Me is the God-conscious seeker of great reward, who adheres to the scholars, follows the forbearing, and accepts wisdom from the wise.'"

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: مرفوع

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (1/116)

Assessment transcribed from the source's named scholar and reference. No new grading or consensus is asserted; differing entries remain separate.

Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi: Catalogue non-inclusion note (not an authenticity grade)

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

Source records non-inclusion in this scholar's selection; this is not itself a weak or authentic grade.

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translator: Muhammad Sarwar
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