Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْمُغِيرَةِ حَدَّثَنَا مُعَانُ بْنُ رِفَاعَةَ حَدَّثَنِي عَلِيُّ بْنُ يَزِيدَ حَدَّثَنِي الْقَاسِمُ مَوْلَى بَنِي يَزِيدَ عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ الْبَاهِلِيِّ قَالَ لَمَّا كَانَ فِي حَجَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ قَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَهُوَ يَوْمَئِذٍ مُرْدِفٌ الْفَضْلَ بْنَ عَبَّاسٍ عَلَى جَمَلٍ آدَمَ فَقَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ خُذُوا مِنْ الْعِلْمِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُقْبَضَ الْعِلْمُ وَقَبْلَ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ الْعِلْمُ وَقَدْ كَانَ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ { يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ وَإِنْ تَسْأَلُوا عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ عَفَا اللَّهُ عَنْهَا وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ حَلِيمٌ } قَالَ فَكُنَّا قَدْ كَرِهْنَا كَثِيرًا مِنْ مَسْأَلَتِهِ وَاتَّقَيْنَا ذَاكَ حِينَ أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَى نَبِيِّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ فَأَتَيْنَا أَعْرَابِيًّا فَرَشَوْنَاهُ بِرِدَاءٍ قَالَ فَاعْتَمَّ بِهِ حَتَّى رَأَيْتُ حَاشِيَةَ الْبُرْدِ خَارِجَةً مِنْ حَاجِبِهِ الْأَيْمَنِ قَالَ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لَهُ سَلْ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ فَقَالَ لَهُ يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ كَيْفَ يُرْفَعُ الْعِلْمُ مِنَّا وَبَيْنَ أَظْهُرِنَا الْمَصَاحِفُ وَقَدْ تَعَلَّمْنَا مَا فِيهَا وَعَلَّمْنَا نِسَاءَنَا وَذَرَارِيَّنَا وَخَدَمَنَا قَالَ فَرَفَعَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَأْسَهُ وَقَدْ عَلَتْ وَجْهَهُ حُمْرَةٌ مِنْ الْغَضَبِ قَالَ فَقَالَ أَيْ ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ هَذِهِ الْيَهُودُ وَالنَّصَارَى بَيْنَ أَظْهُرِهِمْ الْمَصَاحِفُ لَمْ يُصْبِحُوا يَتَعَلَّقُوا بِحَرْفٍ مِمَّا جَاءَتْهُمْ بِهِ أَنْبِيَاؤُهُمْ أَلَا وَإِنَّ مِنْ ذَهَابِ الْعِلْمِ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ حَمَلَتُهُ ثَلَاثَ مِرَارٍ.
English Translation
Abu al-Mughira narrated to us: Mu'an ibn Rifa'a narrated to us: Ali ibn Yazid narrated to me: al-Qasim, the freedman of Banu Yazid, narrated to me, from Abu Umama al-Bahili, who said: During the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood — that day having al-Fadl ibn Abbas riding behind him on a tawny camel — and said: "O people, acquire knowledge before knowledge is seized away and before knowledge is raised up." Allah, Mighty and Majestic, had already revealed: {O you who believe, do not ask about things which, if made clear to you, would displease you; but if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being sent down, they will be made clear to you — Allah has pardoned that, and Allah is Forgiving, Forbearing.} He said: So we had come to dislike asking him many things, and we were cautious of that once Allah had revealed this to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: So we went to a bedouin and bribed him with a cloak. He wrapped it around himself as a turban, until I saw the edge of the cloak sticking out from his right eyebrow. He said: Then we said to him, "Ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)." He said: So he said to him, "O Prophet of Allah, how can knowledge be taken away from us when the copies of the Qur'an are among us, and we have learned what is in them, and we have taught it to our women, our children, and our servants?" He said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) raised his head, redness of anger having come over his face, and said, "May your mother be bereft of you! Here are the Jews and the Christians, with the scriptures among them, yet they have not woken up clinging to a single letter of what their prophets brought them. Indeed, part of the vanishing of knowledge is that its bearers vanish" — three times.