If I saw a man leaving his home without an inkwell or pen to seek [knowledge of] hadeeth, [then] this would affirm his deceit.
Category: Knowledge
A pen for a deenaar
Muhammad ibn Salaam al-Baykandee's pen broke whilst in the gathering of a Shaykh, so he announced 'a pen for a deenaar', whereupon pens began to fall upon him [from all directions].
I did not make a single mistake
I was ill for 2 years, and when I got better, I read the Qur.aan [from memory] and I did not make a single mistake.
I know which book it is in
I have in my house [something] I wrote 50 years [ago] and have not read it since I [first] wrote it. Certainly, I know which book it is in, [and] which page it is on [and] which line it is on
He would memorise 500 hadeeth in a single sitting
None of our companions were better at memorising hadeeth than him (Yahyaa ibn Yamaan); He would memorise 500 hadeeth in a single sitting.
There is nothing I have except that I recall its isnaad
I have written [ahaadeeth] from more than 1,000 Shaykhs, and from each one I have [taken] 10,000 ahaadeeth; There is nothing I have except that I recall its isnaad.
I know more about it than him
For 20 years, I have not heard a man narrate hadeeth except that I know more about it than him; [however] I had forgotten some knowledge [the extent of which] if a man was to memorise that [which I...
He is responsible for him
It is befitting for a man to encourage his child in [seeking] knowledge, for he is indeed responsible for him
I narrated 50,000 hadeeth from memory
When Abu 'Abdullaah 'Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Ahmad al-Khuttootee (d. 335AH) arrived in al-Basrah (Iraq), he had no books with him. He remained in al-Basrah for some months until his books arrived.
The result of the sins he used to do
Certainly, I consider a man who has forgotten knowledge which he used to possess to be the result of the sins he used to do.