692. ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; Wakiʿ narrated to us; ʿUmar ibn al-Saʿdī narrated to us, from Awfā ibn Dalham al-ʿAdawī, who said:

“It reached me that ʿAlī—may Allah honor his countenance—said: ‘Acquire knowledge, that you may be recognized through it; put it into practice, that you may be counted among its people. For after you there will come a time in which nine-tenths of the people will deny the truth. In that age none will be saved except every nūmah—the quiet, unnoticed believer. Such people are the leaders of guidance and the lamps of knowledge.’”