العمل بالعلم وتبليغه: قال أبو عثمان الحيري رحمه الله: ذهابُ الإسلام من أربعة: لا يعملونَ بما يَعلَمون، ويعملونَ بما لا يَعلَمون، ولا يَتَعلَّمون مالا يَعْلَمون، ويَمنَعون النَّاس من العلم. قال الذهبي رحمه الله: هذه نعوتُ رؤوس العرب والتُّرك، وخلق من جهلة العامة، فلو عملوا بيسير ما عرفوا، لأفلحوا، ولو وقفوا عن العمل بالبدع لوُفِّقوا ولو فَتَّشوا عن دينهم وسألوا أهل الذِّكر- لا أهل الحِيَلِ والمكر- لسَعِدوا، بل يُعرِضون عن التعلُّم تيهًا وكَسَلاَ، فواحدة من هذه الخِلال مُردِيَة، فكيف بها إذا اجتمعت؟! فما ظنُّك إذا انضم إليها كِبْر، وفجورٌ، وإجرامٌ وتَجَهْرُمٌ على الله! نسأل الله العافية. [السير (تهذيبه) 2 / 723].
Acting upon and disseminating knowledge: Abu Uthman al-Hiri, may God have mercy on him, said: “The decline of Islam stems from four things: they do not act upon what they know, they act upon what they do not know, they do not learn what they do not know, and they prevent people from acquiring knowledge.” Al-Dhahabi, may God have mercy on him, said: “These are the characteristics of the leaders of the Arabs and Turks, and of many ignorant common people. If they acted upon even a little of what they knew, they would prosper. If they refrained from practicing innovations, they would be guided. If they investigated their religion and asked those who possess knowledge—not those who practice trickery and deceit—they would be happy. Rather, they turn away from learning out of arrogance and laziness. Any one of these traits is destructive, so what about when they are combined?! What do you think will happen if they are compounded by pride, immorality, criminality, and defiance of God? We ask God for well-being.” [Siyar (its abridgment) 2/723]