36/26. Chapter:
Sunan Ibn Majah 4048 — Acting on Knowledge
The disappearance of the Quran and Knowledge
Acting on Knowledge: Reading the Qur’an Must Lead to Practice
Sunan Ibn Majah : 4048
Sunan Ibn MajahHadith Number 4048
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ أَبِي الْجَعْدِ، عَنْ زِيَادِ بْنِ لَبِيدٍ، قَالَ ذَكَرَ النَّبِيُّ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ شَيْئًا فَقَالَ " ذَاكَ عِنْدَ أَوَانِ ذَهَابِ الْعِلْمِ " . قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَكَيْفَ يَذْهَبُ الْعِلْمُ وَنَحْنُ نَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَنُقْرِئُهُ أَبْنَاءَنَا وَيُقْرِئُهُ أَبْنَاؤُنَا أَبْنَاءَهُمْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ قَالَ " ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ زِيَادُ إِنْ كُنْتُ لأَرَاكَ مِنْ أَفْقَهِ رَجُلٍ بِالْمَدِينَةِ أَوَلَيْسَ هَذِهِ الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَى يَقْرَءُونَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنْجِيلَ لاَ يَعْمَلُونَ بِشَىْءٍ مِمَّا فِيهِمَا " .
Ziyad bin Labid Narrated from:
The Prophet (ﷺ) mentioned something and said: ‘That will be at the time when knowledge (of Qur’an) disappears.’ I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, how will knowledge disappear when we read the Qur’an and teach it to our children, until the Day of Resurrection?’ He said: ‘May your mother be bereft of you, Ziyad! I thought that you were the wisest man in Al- Madinah. Is it not the case that these Jews and Christians read the Tawrah and the Injil, but they do not act upon anything of what is in them?’”
Reference : Sunan Ibn Majah 4048In-book reference : Book 36, Hadith 123English translation : Vol. 5, Book 36, Hadith 4048
Summary of Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 4048
This Hadith about knowledge explains that real knowledge is not only reading words. Ziyad bin Labid wondered how knowledge could disappear while Muslims read the Qur’an and teach it to their children. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم answered by pointing to Jews and Christians who read the Tawrah and Injil but did not act upon what was in them. The core topic is Knowledge. The message is simple and direct: knowledge can lose its effect when people do not live by it. For those searching for a Hadith about acting on knowledge, this narration warns against treating recitation and teaching as enough without practice.
What we learn from this hadith
- Reading scripture alone is not enough if people do not act on it.
- Knowledge can disappear in effect when practice is lost.
- Teaching children the Qur’an should be joined with living by its guidance.
- The Hadith warns against a gap between learning and action.
