Who are the highest in Paradise after the Prophets: the scholars or those who patiently endure tribulation? Is it a condition for the virtue of scholars that they teach what they have acquired of knowledge? Is seeking worldly knowledge a waste of time? What are the conditions for patience and the excuses for falling short in it?

The best of people after the Prophets are Abu Bakr, the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and the rest of the Companions. The early generations of the Ummah and its imams have agreed that the best of the Ummah after its Prophet is Abu Bakr, then Umar. Scholars hold the highest rank among people after the Prophets, because patience in obedience is better than patience in tribulation, and knowledge is the best of acts of worship and the one most in need of patience. Scholars are the heirs and successors of the Prophets; they are the truthful ones (Siddiqoon) who upheld what the Messengers brought, through knowledge, action, guidance, admonition, patience, and struggle. Seeking worldly natural sciences is not a waste of time, but religious sciences should be prioritized over them.