Dhamm man la ya'mal bi ilmihi li Ibn Asakir
- Author died
- 571 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Fikr
Dhamm man la ya'mal bi-ʻilmih (The Censure of One Who Does Not Act upon His Knowledge) is a short treatise by the Shafi'i hadith scholar Abu al-Qasim Ibn Asakir (499–571 AH / 1105–1176 CE) addressing the religious obligation of practicing what one learns and warning against knowledge devoid of deed .
Composition and Transmission
The work constitutes the fourteenth dictation session (al-majlis al-rābiʻ ʻashar) from Ibn Asakir's dictation assemblies (amālī), delivered by dictation (imlāʼ) in the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus . It was transmitted from the author by the scholar Abu al-Qasim al-Husayn ibn Hibat Allah ibn Sasra . The manuscript collation note at the conclusion indicates that the transmitted text was verified against the author's own handwritten autograph .
Content and Structure
The booklet comprises eighteen numbered items, consisting of prophetic traditions, statements from the Companions and early figures, and poetic verses, each cited with its complete chain of transmission (isnād) :
- Prophetic hadiths: It opens with reports concerning the questioning of servants on the Day of Judgment regarding what they did with their knowledge, including narrations attributed to Abu Barzah and Mu'adh ibn Jabal . It includes traditions regarding the severe torment awaiting scholars who derived no benefit from their learning, the simile comparing one who teaches good while neglecting himself to a lamp burning itself out to provide light for others, and warnings against seeking worldly status through sacred knowledge .
- Narrations and poetry: It cites the statement of Ali ibn Abi Talib that هتف العلم بالعمل فإن أجابه وإلا ارتحل ("Knowledge calls out for action; if it responds [it stays], otherwise it departs") , definitions of the true jurist by al-Hasan al-Basri , statements of Bishr al-Hafi , and an eighteen-line poem exhorting the listener to act upon knowledge and offer sincere counsel .
Ibn Asakir incorporates critical hadith commentary alongside several chains, pointing out solitary transmissions (tafarrud) and classifying certain narrations as gharīb (uncommon) .
Editions
The text has been published in modern editions, including:
- An edition edited by Muhammad Muti' al-Hafiz, published by Dar al-Fikr in Damascus (1399 AH / 1979 CE), printed alongside Ibn Asakir's fifty-third dictation session, Dhamm Qurna' al-Su' (Censure of Corrupt Companions) .
- An edition edited by Ahmad al-Bazrah, published by Dar al-Ma'mun li-l-Turath (1410 AH / 1990 CE) .
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