al-Matalib al-Aliya 3100 — the Qur'an contains the knowledge of the first and the last

المطالب العالية 3100 — القرآن يشتمل على علم الأولين والآخرين

A report from Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud, transmitted by Musaddad from Yahya from Shu'ba from Abu Ishaq from Murra, that whoever seeks knowledge should reflect on the Qur'an, because it holds the knowledge of the first and the last. Ibn Hajar places it in the chapter on the Qur'an containing the rulings (chapter 36, in the Book of Knowledge). The editor Qasim al-Qasim notes that Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i was a mudallis who later became confused, but Shu'ba selected from his reports and so his tadlis is safe; the editor cites al-Haythami saying al-Tabarani transmitted it with chains one of whose men are those of the sahih, and al-Busayri in al-Ittihaf saying Musaddad transmitted it as a saying of Ibn Mas'ud (mawquf). The editor's takhrij lists Abd Allah ibn Ahmad in Zawa'id al-Zuhd, al-Tabarani in al-Kabir and al-Khatib in al-Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih.