Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī

ذِكْرُ الْبَيَانِ بِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا يَخْلُفُ الْمَرْءَ بَعْدَهُ

ibnhibban:93 – al-Ḥasan b. Sufyān > Ismāʿīl b. ʿUbayd b. Abū Karīmah > al-Ḥarrānī > Muḥammad b. Salamah > Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥīm > Zayd b. Abū Unaysah > Zayd b. Aslam > ʿAbdullāh b. Abū Qatādah from his father > Rasūl

[Machine] I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying, "The best things a person leaves behind after his death are three: a righteous child who prays for him, ongoing charity from which he continues to receive reward, and beneficial knowledge that others benefit from after him."  

ابن حبّان:٩٣ – أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ سُفْيَانَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ أَبِي كَرِيمَةَ هُوَ الْحَرَّانِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحِيمِ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَبِي أُنَيْسَةَ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ

سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَقُولُ «خَيْرُ مَا يَخْلُفُ الرَّجُلَ بَعْدَهُ ثَلَاثٌ وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ وَصَدَقَةٌ تَجْرِي يَبْلُغُهُ أَجْرُهَا وَعِلْمٌ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ»  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Ibn Ḥibbān, Nasāʾī's Kubrá, Suyūṭī

ذِكْرُ الْبَيَانِ بِأَنَّ اتِّخَاذَ الْأَحْبَاسِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ مِنْ خَيْرِ مَا يَخْلُفُ الْمَرْءُ بَعْدَهُ

ibnhibban:4902 – Abū ʿArūbah > Muḥammad b. Wahbb. Abū Karīmah > Muḥammad b. Salamah > Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥīm > Zayd b. Abū Unaysah > Fulayḥ b. Sulaymān > Zayd b. Aslam > ʿAbdullāh b. Abū Qatādah from his father

[Machine] I heard the Prophetﷺ saying, "The best thing that remains for a person after his death are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, a continuous charity whose reward reaches him, and a beneficial knowledge that is acted upon after him."  

ابن حبّان:٤٩٠٢ – أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو عَرُوبَةَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ وَهْبِ بْنِ أَبِي كَرِيمَةَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحِيمِ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي زَيْدُ بْنُ أَبِي أُنَيْسَةَ عَنْ فُلَيْحِ بْنِ سُلَيْمَانَ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ

سَمِعْتُ النَّبِيَّ ﷺ يَقُولُ «خَيْرُ مَا يَخْلُفُ الْمَرْءُ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهِ ثَلَاثٌ وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ وَصَدَقَةٌ تَجْرِي يَبْلُغُهُ أَجْرُهَا وَعَمَلٌ يُعْمَلُ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ»  

nasai-kubra:10863 – Ismāʿīl b. ʿUbayd b. Abū Karīmah al-Ḥarrānī > Muḥammad b. Salamah > Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥīm > Zayd b. Abū Unaysah > Zayd b. Aslam > ʿAbdullāh b. Abū Qatādah from his father

[Machine] Narrated by the Prophet ﷺ, he said, "The best thing that a man leaves behind after his death are three: a righteous child who supplicates for him, a perpetually flowing charity that benefits him, and knowledge that is beneficial and practiced after him."  

الكبرى للنسائي:١٠٨٦٣ – عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ أَبِي كَرِيمَةَ الْحَرَّانِيِّ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحِيمِ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَبِي أُنَيْسَةَ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ أَبِي قَتَادَةَ عَنْ أَبِيهِ

عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ خَيْرُ مَا يَخْلُفُ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ثَلَاثٌ وَلَدٌ صَالِحٌ يَدْعُو لَهُ وَصَدَقَةٌ تَجْرِي يَبْلُغُهُ أَجْرُهَا وَعِلْمٌ يُعْمَلُ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ  

suyuti:13983a –
Request/Fix translation

  

السيوطي:١٣٩٨٣a –

"خَيْرُ ما يخلفُ الإِنسانَ بَعَدَهُ ثلاثٌ: ولدٌ صالحٌ يدعو له، وصدقةٌ تُجرى يَبْلعْه أَجرُها، وعِلمٌ يُنْتَفع به من بعده".  

[هـ] ابن ماجة وابن خزيمة، [حب] ابن حبّان [طب] الطبرانى في الكبير [ض] ضياء المقدسي في مختاره عن أَبى قتادة