Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2647
حَدَّثَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ الْعَتَكِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ الرَّازِيِّ، عَنِ الرَّبِيعِ بْنِ أَنَسٍ، عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " مَنْ خَرَجَ فِي طَلَبِ الْعِلْمِ فَهُوَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ حَتَّى يَرْجِعَ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ وَرَوَاهُ بَعْضُهُمْ فَلَمْ يَرْفَعْهُ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Anas ibn Malik reported that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever goes out seeking knowledge is in the path of Allah until he returns.’ Abu ‘Isa said: ‘This hadith is hasan gharīb. Some narrators reported it without attributing it to the Prophet (mawquf).’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The source notes a mawquf version in addition to the Prophetic (marfu‘) wording.