Hadith 202

It is narrated from Kathir ibn Qais (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I was sitting with Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) in the mosque of Damascus, when a man came to him and said: "O Abu Darda, I have come to you from the city of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with a matter that I heard you narrating from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and I did not come for any other need." Abu Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) replied: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Whoever follows a path in search of knowledge, Allah will make his path to Paradise easier. And the angels lower their wings in satisfaction for the seeker of knowledge. And the scholar is sought forgiveness by all those in the heavens and on the earth, even the fish in the water. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon on the night of its fullest over all other stars. And indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. The Prophets did not leave behind dinars or dirhams, but they left knowledge. So whoever takes it, takes a great share.'"