780 – ʿAbd Allah narrated to us; my father narrated to me; ʿAbd al-Samad narrated to us; ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muslim narrated to us; al-Ḥusayn narrated to me, from Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, from Abū al-Dardāʾ, who said:

“What is it that I see your scholars departing while your ignorant folk are not learning? Seek knowledge before it is taken away, for knowledge is taken away by the passing of the scholars. Why do I see you so eager for what has already been guaranteed to you, yet neglectful of what you have been entrusted with? I know the worst among you better than a veterinarian knows his horses: they are those who come to the prayer only sluggishly, and who listen to the Quran only with aversion.”