Abdullah reported: Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Knowledge is not knowing many narrations. Verily, knowledge is the fear of Allah.”
Source: Rawḍat al-‘Uqalā 9
Ibn Rajab said, “Knowledge is not memorizing many narrations or sayings, but rather it is a light that Allah places in the heart by which a servant understands the truth and he distinguishes it from falsehood.”
Source: Faḍl ‘Ilm al-Salaf 1/5
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ قَالَ قَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رضي الله عنه لَيْسَ الْعِلْمُ بِكَثْرَةِ الرَّوِايَةِ إِنَّمَا الْعِلْمُ الْخَشْيَةُ
9 روضة العقلاء لابن حبان
قال ابن رجب فليس العلم بكثرة الرواية ولا بكثرة المقال ولكنه نور يقذف في القلب يفهم به العبد الحق ويميز به بينه وبين الباطل
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