Jundab said, "He and I set out for Basrah until we reached a place called Bayt al-Miskin, which lies at a distance from Basrah comparable to the journey to Nubia."He asked, "Have you been studying the Quran with anyone?"I replied, "Yes."He said, "When we reach Basrah, bring them to me."So I brought him Salih bin Musarrih, Abu Bilal, Najdah, and Nafi bin al-Azraq, who in my view at that time were among the most distinguished people of Basrah. He began to narrate to me from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.Jundab said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "The example of the scholar who teaches people goodness but forgets himself is like that of a lamp which gives light to people while burning itself away."The Messenger of Allah ﷺ also said, "Let nothing stand between any one of you and Paradise, while he is looking at its gates, like a handful of blood that he has shed unjustly."The men then began to speak, mentioning the duty of commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong, while he remained silent, listening to them. Then he said, "I have never seen people more deserving of salvation than these, if they are truthful in what they say."
انطلقت أنا وهو إلى البصرة، حتى أتينا مكانا يقال له: بيت المسكين، وهو من البصرة على مثل النوبة، فقال: هل كنت تدارس أحدا القرآن؟ قلت: نعم، قال: فإذا أتينا البصرة فأتني، بهم، فأتيته بصالح بن مسرح، وبأبي بلال، ونجدة، ونافع بن الأزرق، وهم في نفسي يومئذ من أفاضل أهل البصرة، فأنشأ يحدثني عن رسول الله ﷺ، فقال جندب: قال رسول الله ﷺ: مثل العالم الذي يعلم الناس الخير وينسى نفسه، كمثل السراج يضيء للناس ويحرق نفسه. وقال رسول الله ﷺ: لا يحولن بين أحدكم وبين الجنة وهو ينظر إلى أبوابها ملء كف من دم أهراقه ظلما. قال: فتكلم القوم، فذكروا الأمر بالمعروف، والنهي عن المنكر، وهو ساكت يسمع منهم، ثم قال: لم أر كاليوم قط أحق بالنجاة إن كانوا صادقين.
Tabarani (1681) reported it through the route of Hisham bin Ammar, from Ali bin Sulayman Kalbi, who said, Amash narrated to me, from Abu Tamima, from Jundab bin Abdullah Azdi, and he related the hadith. Its chain is hasan because of Ali bin Sulayman Kalbi, whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in Thiqat, and Abu Hatim said, "I see no problem with his hadith, he is sound in hadith, though not well known."It has been reported from Umar bin Khattab, Commander of the Faithful, that he said, "Three things corrupt the times, misguided leaders, a hypocrite's disputation using the Quran, while the Quran itself is true, and the slip of a scholar." See its sourcing in Madkhal (833).And from Ibn Abbas, who said, "Woe to the followers because of the missteps of the scholar." He was asked, "How is that, Ibn Abbas?" He said, "The scholar says something based on his own opinion, then he meets someone more knowledgeable than himself about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who informs him, and he retracts, but the followers have already acted upon what he had ruled." Madkhal (836).And from Abu Darda, who said, "I command you to do something that I myself do not do, but perhaps Allah will still reward me for commanding it." Madkhal (838).And Ibn Uyayna composed these lines,Take my knowledge, even if I fall short in my deeds,My knowledge will benefit you, and my shortcoming will not harm you.And from Ibn Abbas, who said, "Take wisdom from whomever you hear it, for a man may speak wisdom without being wise himself, so it is like an arrow shot without a marksman." Madkhal (843).And from Saeed bin Abu Burda, who said, it used to be said, "Wisdom is the stray property of the believer, he takes it wherever he finds it." Madkhal (844).This has also been reported as a raised hadith, but it is not sound. Tirmidhi (2687) and Ibn Majah (4169) both reported it through the route of Abdullah bin Numayr, from Ibrahim bin Fadl, from Saeed Maqburi, from Abu Hurairah, as a raised report, with the wording, "Wisdom is the stray property of the believer, so wherever he finds it, he has more right to it."Tirmidhi said, "This is a gharib hadith, we do not know it except through this route, and Ibrahim bin Fadl Makhzumi is daif in hadith."I say, it is as he said, for Ibrahim bin Fadl Makhzumi Madani, Abu Ishaq, also called Ibrahim bin Ishaq, the scholars are unanimous in declaring him daif, and Daraqutni said, "He is discarded (matruk)," and Hafiz relied on this in Taqrib.