A man came to Ahmad ibn Hanbal with 10,000 [deenaars] of profit from his trade, and he refused [to take] it.
Category: Knowledge
Three essential characteristics
You will not be a scholar until you possess three characteristics.
Accuracy and precision
That day, Ghundar brought out a sack of books, and said: ‘Do your best to find an error in them.’
Rectifying the misunderstandings of the people
The people of Egypt would disparage ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, until al-Layth ibn Sa’d emerged from [amongst] them and spoke to them about his virtues, and so they refrained.
The two imaams of Khuraasaan
Their presence entails the wellbeing of the Muslims.
Not to accept gifts from the students
Do not accept it, [I prefer that you continue to] relate [hadeeth] to me.
The error of his teacher
A man will not know the error of his teacher, until he sits with other than him.
Maintaining close attachment to the scholars
[In the pursuit for knowledge], I maintained close attachment to Shu’bah for twenty years.
The most knowledgeable of them
And the one whose knowledge most encompassed all of these matters was Sa’eed ibn Jubayr.
The scholar and the one who learns will be partners in reward
Learn, for indeed the scholar and the one who learns will be partners in reward.