Chapter 12.1. About Fudayl Ibn Iyad

Fudayl used to say, "Beware of the worldly scholar so that he does not turn you away [from the path of righteousness] with his drunkenness. Many of your scholars, their clothes more closely resemble the clothes of Khosrau and Caesar than those of Muhammad, Muhammad did not erect tall buildings. Instead knowledge was given to him and he dedicated himself to it."'

He also used to say, "Scholars are many, but wise men are few. The essence of knowledge is wisdom. Whoever is given wisdom has been given abundant good." Such was the state of the righteous scholars such as Hasan al-Basri,Sufyan al-Thawri, and Imam Ahmad. They were content with a little from the world, to the point that they departed from it not leaving anything except knowledge. This is despite the fact chat some of them used to wear nice clothes or eat descent food, removed from asceticism.

• Abstinence Of The Early Scholars
• About Hasan Al-Basri

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