The great scholar ‘Abdullāh ibn al-Mubārak (rahimahullah) was criticised for donating money to people in lands other than his own land, so he said:

“Indeed, I know a people who possess virtues and truthfulness, they seek knowledge of ḥadīth, and they do so diligently. They seek knowledge due to mankind’s need for knowledge and consequently they (the students) became in need [of money]. If we were to abandon them, their knowledge would be lost but if we were to help them instead, they would spread knowledge to the ummah of Muḥammad ﷺ. Certainly, I do not know of anything, after prophethood, more virtuous than spreading knowledge.”

Source: Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā‘ (8/387)

Originally published: 26 August 2020