Ibn Abi al-Hudhayl reported: Abu Darda, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Whoever does not consider coming and going for the sake of knowledge to be an act of jihad, he has a shortcoming in his mind and his opinion.”
Source: Jāmi’ Bayān al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlih 159
عَنِ ابْنِ أَبِي الْهُذَيْلِ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ رضي الله عنه مَنْ رَأَى الْغُدُوَّ وَالرَّوَاحَ إِلَى الْعِلْمِ لَيْسَ بِجِهَادٍ فَقَدْ نَقَصَ عَقْلُهُ وَرَأْيُهُ
159 جامع بيان العلم وفضله لابن عبد البر باب تفضيل العلماء على الشهداء