A man came to Abu Darda (ra) while he was in Damascus. Abu Darda asked him, “What has brought you here my brother?” He replied, “A hadith which you relate from the Prophet (saw).” Abu Darda asked, “Have you come for some worldly need?” He replied, “No.” “You have come only to seek this hadith?” He replied, “Yes.” Abu Darda then said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah
say:
"Whoever treads a path due to which he seeks knowledge, Allah will make him tread one of the paths towards Paradise. The angels lower their wings out of contentment for the seeker of knowledge; the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth, even the fish in the depths of the sea ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the scholar over the worshipper is like the virtue of the moon on the night when it is full, over all of the stars.
Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets, and the prophets do not leave behind dinar nor dirham, but rather, they leave behind knowledge. So whoever takes it, has acquired an abundant portion"
(Abu Dawud & Tirmidhi)