Likewise, people of sound reason direct their hearts to the intended object itself, not to the instruments that merely lead to it. Hence they employ phrases that point to that goal, because their intention is obvious from the context. Thus, when addressing someone who possesses another man’s learning, or who issues his commands and conveys his information, they say, “This is So-and-so.” If what they seek is the knowledge of a particular scholar or the obedience due to a certain commander, and the deputy who stands in his place arrives, they likewise say, “This is So-and-so”—meaning, “What is sought from him is available with this man.” Since the objective is the same in both cases, they refer to one of the two with the name of the other. In the same vein people say, “Ikrimah is Ibn ʿAbbās,” and “Abū Yūsuf is …”