BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE · 9 – THE REPREHENSIBILITY OF WITHHOLDING KNOWLEDGE
3658 – It is narrated from Abū Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “If someone is asked about some matter of knowledge and withholds it (despite knowing it), Allah (c.c.) will bridle him with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection.” [358]
EXPLANATION
The obligation to disclose what is asked should especially be considered in the case of knowledge that is necessary to learn. For example, if a disbeliever wishes to become Muslim and asks how to have iman (faith), it is obligatory (farḍ) to tell him how to believe. If someone who has just become Muslim asks how to perform prayer, how to perform ghusl (ritual purification), or how to fast, it is necessary to answer these questions. Those who know but do not answer are deserving of the punishment mentioned in the hadith. However, if someone asks, “What is the surface area of the earth in square kilometers?” or “How far is the Vega star from our world?”—while it is virtuous for the one who knows to answer, failing to do so does not make one as deserving of punishment as those who withhold necessary knowledge.