The only inheritance of the prophets — passed on by anyone who studies.
Narrated by Abū al-Dardāʾ (أبو الدرداء)
إِنَّ الأَنْبِيَاءَ لَمْ يُوَرِّثُوا دِينَارًا وَلاَ دِرْهَمًا، وَإِنَّمَا وَرَّثُوا الْعِلْمَ، فَمَنْ أَخَذَهُ أَخَذَ بِحَظٍّ وَافِرٍ
"The prophets did not leave dīnār nor dirham as inheritance. They left only knowledge. Whoever takes it has taken an abundant share."
A hadith that reframes every hour spent with the classical sciences. The one who sits with the books of al-Ghazali, Ibn Kathir, al-Nawawi is taking a direct inheritance from the prophets — not a metaphorical one. This is why the classical scholars insisted on the etiquette of study: you are holding something someone died to preserve.
Passages that draw on this hadith
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"depends upon the perfecting of both these faculties, the cognitive and the volitional. The perfecting of the cognitive faculty comes about only through knowledge of his Originator and Maker, knowledge of His names and attributes, knowledge of the path that leads to Him, knowledge of the perils that beset that path, knowledge of his own soul, and knowledge of its defects."
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"Knowledge is what the Messenger brought from God. The Exalted has said: "So whoever disputes with you concerning it after the knowledge that has come to you." And He said: "And if you were to follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to you." And He said of the Qur'an, "He sent it down with His knowledge" — that is, His knowledge is contained within it."
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"who acknowledged their lack of knowledge before God, attributing all knowledge to Him. Realization means that one's knowledge fades into God's knowledge, becoming as if it were no knowledge at all. All knowledge is returned to its rightful owner, God,"
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"Allah knows best." Chapter Six: On the Afflictions of Knowledge and the Signs of Scholars of the Hereafter and the Bad Scholars We have discussed the merit of knowledge and scholars, and there is significant emphasis in the texts about bad scholars,"
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"though it has a weak chain. If you observe scholars and jurists who excel in both branches and roots of knowledge, yet their character remains unrefined, it can be said: understanding the ranks of knowledge and the knowledge of the Hereafter reveals that their engagement offered little benefit as knowledge."
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"The knowledge of scholars is ignorance compared to His knowledge. If one were to recognize the most knowledgeable and the most ignorant person of his time, it would be impossible to prefer the less knowledgeable based on knowledge, even if the less knowledgeable possesses knowledge that fulfills his livelihood."
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"Chapter: The Ranks of "You Alone We Worship" in Knowledge and Action The concept of servitude has various ranks, determined by knowledge and action. In terms of knowledge, there are two ranks: The first is knowledge of اللّٰه, and the second is knowledge of His religion."
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"However, they are deluded, for if they looked with insight, they would know that knowledge is of two types: knowledge of interaction and knowledge of unveiling, which is the knowledge of Allah and His attributes, commonly referred to as the knowledge of understanding."