1285 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; Ahmad b. Ibrahim narrated to me; Abu al-Sari narrated to me; ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-ʿAmmi narrated to us, from Abu ʿImran al-Jawni, from Hārim b. Hayyān, who said:

“Beware of the impious scholar.”

This remark reached ʿUmar b. al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and it worried him, so he wrote to Hārim asking, “Who is the impious scholar?”

Hārim replied, “By Allah, O Commander of the Believers, I meant nothing but good. He is an imam who speaks with knowledge yet acts with sinfulness; the people become confused by him and are led astray.”