Giving to spread Knowledge

It is reported that ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak – Allāh’s mercy be upon him – was criticized for spending on [other people in] other lands and not his own. In response, he said, “I know the locations of virtuous, sincere and truthful people who seek and study ḥadīth and do it well because people are in need of them. They are needy, and if we leave them, their knowledge will be lost; but if we help them, they will spread knowledge to the Ummah of Muḥammad – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him. I do not know of anything more virtuous, after Prophecy, than spreading knowledge.”

Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of ʿAbdullāh b. Al-Mubārak.