It is reported that Imâm ‘Abd Al-Rahmân b. Mahdî – Allâh have mercy on him – said, following a mention of the Sȗfîah (Sufis):
Do not sit with them, nor with the followers of Kalâm.(1) Be with the carriers of books,(2) for they are like mines, like those who descend: one brings up a gem and another a nugget of gold.
{Ibn Battah, Al-Ibânah Al-Kubrâ article 483}
(1) Speculative theology, drawn from foreign philosophy and logic, as practiced by sects such as the Jahmia and Mutazila.
(2) Arabic al-qamâtir: covers or folders used to keep written material. ‘Carriers of books’ refers to the scholars and students who occupied themselves with Islamic knowledge and hadîth.
Do not sit with them, nor with the followers of Kalâm.(1) Be with the carriers of books,(2) for they are like mines, like those who descend: one brings up a gem and another a nugget of gold.
{Ibn Battah, Al-Ibânah Al-Kubrâ article 483}
(1) Speculative theology, drawn from foreign philosophy and logic, as practiced by sects such as the Jahmia and Mutazila.
(2) Arabic al-qamâtir: covers or folders used to keep written material. ‘Carriers of books’ refers to the scholars and students who occupied themselves with Islamic knowledge and hadîth.
