I have not seen a man more knowledgeable about [matters of] halaal and haraam than Sufyaan ath-Thowree.
Category: Words of Wisdom
Never too late to start learning
Indeed, al-Kisaa.ee studied Arabic grammar in old age.
He was good to the students
It was said that Ibn Abee Zayd [al-Qayrawaanee] wrote his famous book when he was [just] 17 years [of age].
ath-Thowree has arrived
I heard them [speaking] at Marwu saying: ‘ath-Thowree has arrived.’ So I went out to see him, and was beholden [to find] he was a youth, and his beard had just started to grow.
I do not know
Suhnoon was asked whether it is possible for a scholar to say ‘I do not know’ in response to a matter he knows about?
I do not know
[To say] ‘I do not know’ is half of [all] knowledge.
I do not know
It is befitting for the scholar to bequeath his companions the term ‘I do not know’, so it becomes a principle to which they seek refuge [from the danger of speaking without knowledge].
Humility of the scholar
I have never seen a scholar say “I do not know” more than Taawoos [ibn Keesaan].
I do not know
[To say] “I do not know” is half of [all] knowledge.
He refused to take it
A man came to Ahmad ibn Hanbal with 10,000 [deenaars] of profit from his trade, and he refused [to take] it.