his deeds come to an end, for the arena of action is the life of this world. When death arrives, it is finished; nothing can be done after the grave—“When a human being dies his deeds are cut off except from three things: a continuous charity,” meaning that he himself establishes an endowment—land, property, any asset—for the poor; “or knowledge from which people benefit,” that is, knowledge that continues to serve others after him; “or a righteous child who prays for him,” for an unrighteous child neither supplicates for his parents nor treats them dutifully, whereas a righteous one will pray for them after their death.

For this reason we must take the utmost care to secure the righteousness of our children: their uprightness benefits them and, through their prayers, brings good to us when we have departed. Of these three avenues, the most excellent is beneficial knowledge. Let me give you—and in fact there are many—examples. Abū Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, one of the most learned Companions after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, would at times collapse from extreme hunger, yet today the majority of Muslims read little besides his narrations. He is the one who conveyed these hadiths to us; that transmission is a perpetual charity unmatched by any other form of charity available in his lifetime.

Imām Aḥmad and Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah are teaching us while they lie in their graves, for their books are in our hands. Compare this with the greatest caliph or the wealthiest merchant of Ibn Taymiyyah’s day—has any of their bounty reached us now? Not at all. Thus, knowledge is the most beneficial of all.