four hundred hadiths over forty days, whereas in a single day we hear all of that!” He replied, “O Abd al-Rahmān(1), where could we obtain a mint? You have a mint: you strike coins at night and spend them(2) by day.”

This was despite the fact that(3) Kūfa and other places had many trustworthy(4), eminent authorities. Yet because of the prevalence(5) of lying—most of which(6) was found among the Shia—the matter became confused for anyone unable to distinguish one from the other. It is like a stranger entering a town(7) half of whose inhabitants are habitual liars and traitors: he remains wary of them until he identifies those who are truthful and trustworthy. It is also like dirhams among which debasement has become widespread: then(8) anyone who is not a skilled assayer(9) will be wary of dealing in them.

For this reason, those who lack critical judgment and discernment were discouraged from reading books in which falsehood abounds in reports and misguidance in opinions, such as the books of the adherents(10) of religious innovation. It was likewise discouraged to receive knowledge from storytellers and others like them, whose speech contains much falsehood, even though they also say much that is true. By agreement of those knowledgeable about the standing of narrators, the Rāfidah are more mendacious than any other group.