By Allāh, he who gives people verdicts (fatwā) for every question they ask him is crazy (majnūn).

Ibn Battah Al-’Ukbarī, Ibtāl Al-Hiyal article 81, et al.

Imām Ibn Battah (d. 304H) laments:

So here is Ibn Mas’ūd, swearing by Allāh that a person who gives people verdicts for every question they ask him is mad. And [now] if a person swore, he would not be breaking his oath, and if a person said, he would be speaking the truth: that most of the muftis of our time are mad. For you will hardly find a man who is asked about an issue pausing to consider carefully before answering, nor fearing Allāh and bringing to mind that Allāh is watching him, and fearing that He will say to him: What is the basis of your answer? Rather, most of them worry that it will be said: so-and-so was asked a question and he had no answer…

More:

1. Some of the Best and Worst People in Society
2. Who can give a Fatwa?
3. Worse than not knowing
4. Beautiful Cursed Women
5. You haven’t prayed for 40 years!

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi

It is only the storyteller-preachers (al-qusās) who have killed knowledge. A man listens to a storyteller for a year without really learning anything that will last, whereas a man who sits with a scholar for an hour  learns what will last  and benefit him before he even gets up.

Abō Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyā` 2:287.

More:

1. Troubled Times [corrupt scholars]
2. Food for Thought, not for Stomachs
3. The Disease of this Ummah and its Doctor
4. Asking for less refutation [signs of Ahl Al-Bidah]
5. Don’t be the Fifth

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi

Al-Shâfi’î saw me sitting in his circle, and there was some ink on my shirt I was trying to hide. He said, “Young man, why are you hiding it? Having ink on ones clothes is a sign of lofty conduct: to the sight it is black, but to the insight it is white (with the light of knowledge).”

It is reported that ‘Abdullâh b. Al-Mubârak – Allâh have mercy on him – said:

Ink on the clothes is the perfume of the scholars.

- Some put this in verse (from Arabic):

The ink-pot’s ink is the perfume of men
As saffron is the perfume of women
So the former befits the garments of those men
As the latter the garments of wives

It is reported that Imâm Ahmad said, seeing the students of hadîth approaching with their ink-pots:

These are the lanterns of Islâm.

Al-Khatîb Al-Baghdâdî, Al-Jâmi’ li-Akhlâq Al-Râwî, articles 508, 509, 512 .

More:

1. The Recommendation for Men to Smell Pleasant [wearing perfume]
2. The hard life now for the good life later
3. The Companions’ Sincerity in Knowledge
4. Actions speak louder
5. Hot Fashion

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi

I sat in the circle of Abû ‘Abdillâh Ahmad b. Hanbal for twelve years while he read the Musnad to his children, and I never wrote a single hadîth, I only looked at his behavior, character and etiquette.

Ibn Al-Jawzî, Manâqib Ahmad, article 210.

It is reported that Al-Hasan b. Ismâ’îl said, ‘I heard my father say:

There would gather in the circle of Ahmad five thousand people or more; less than five hundred would write, the rest would learn from him good manners and behavior.’

Ibid.

It is reported that Sufyân Al-Thawrî said:

A man who wanted to write hadîth would [learn] manners and worship for twenty years before starting.

Abû Nu’aym, Hilyatu Al-Awliyâ`, 6:361.

More:

1. Learn Arabic, Speak Arabic
2. I’m the Man [the youngster who puts himself forward]
3. Food for Thought, not for Stomachs
4. Umar on interacting with others [trust, consultation and friendship]
5. From the Manners of a Wife with her Husband

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi

I used to have a neighbor from the Ansâr who lived in the area of Banî Umayyah b. Zayd, which is in the ‘Awâlî of Medinah, and we used to take turns attending [the gatherings] of Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s praise and peace be upon him. My neighbor would attend one day and I the other; so when I attended I would convey to him the reports about the revelation that had come, and other such news, and when he attended he would do the same.

My Ansârî companion went on one of his days, and [upon returning] came to my door and knocked hard saying, ‘Is he there?’ I was alarmed and came out to him, and he said, ‘Something serious has happened (some people thought the Prophet had divorced his wives).’ I entered upon Hafsah and found her weeping. I said, ‘Has Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s praise and peace be upon him – divorced you [all]?’ She replied, ‘I don’t know.’ Then, I came to the Prophet – Allâh’s praise and peace be upon him – and asked him, still standing, ‘Have you divorced your women?’ He said, ‘No’, so I said, ‘ Allâhu Akbar (Allâh is Greatest).’

Al-Bukhârî, Al-Sahîh, Chapter on Taking Turns in Seeking Knowledge.

Notes

The narration translated above is a shorter report of the full incident, recorded elsewhere in Sahîh Al-Bukhârî.

In his commentary on Sahîh Al-Bukhârî, Ibn Hajr lists some of the lessons and points that can be taken from this narration, including the following:

1. This hadith shows us that the khabar (news, report) of a single (reliable) person is dependable.

2. The student of knowledge should not neglect taking care of his living needs, in order to help him continue seeking knowledge and other pursuits (at that time, ‘Umar was involved in trade, as is mentioned in other reports).

3. At the same time, the student of knowledge should be diligent and resolute in asking about the knowledge he has missed in his absence.

More:

1. Ignorance and the Sword
2. At the Doorstep of Knowledge
3. Food for Thought, not for Stomachs
4. The Weight of the Quran
5. Giving to spread Knowledge

This is from Sayings of the Salaf - English translations of narrations from the Salaf - the earliest believers, our righteous predecessors, and true scholars of Islam. Selected and translated by Owais Al-Hashimi