Do the Hadiths that encourage seeking knowledge include only religious knowledge, or do they extend to include worldly sciences as well, based on the apparent contradiction between fatwas that state that applying texts on the virtue of seeking knowledge to worldly sciences is an error, and others that affirm that learning every science from which a Muslim benefits brings great reward and much good?

One must differentiate between two matters: the virtue of worldly knowledge beneficial to Muslims, and the implications of religious texts regarding the virtue of knowledge and scholars. The correct approach is to interpret the texts on the virtue of knowledge as referring to the Sacred Knowledge inherited from the prophets, which is the knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah, and understanding in religion. Scholars have affirmed this understanding. However, there are texts that may include all beneficial knowledge, such as the Hadith: "When a person dies, his deeds come to an end except for three: a continuous charity, or knowledge from which benefit is derived, or a righteous child who prays for him." Beneficial knowledge is that which pertains to matters of religion and worldly life in a way that benefits religion.