In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Collected by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr in Jami' Bayan al-'Ilm wa Fadlih, in the chapter titled: "The Virtue of Looking Through Books and the Praiseworthiness of Tending to Them"

2414

Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari was asked:

"What is it that strengthens one's memory?"

He replied:

"Constantly looking through books."

2415

Ahmad ibn Abi 'Imran said:

"I was with Abu Ayyub Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Shuja', and he was staying in his house. He sent one of his sons to Abu 'Abdillah ibn al-A'rabi to invite him over.

The boy returned, saying: 'I asked him this, and he said to me: "I am with a group, and when I am done being taught by them, I will come over."'

Yet I did not see a single person at his house. Rather, he had books in front of him that he was looking through. He would look in one book for some time, then look in another for some time."

Shortly thereafter, he arrived. Abu Ayyub said to him:

"O Abu 'Abdillah! Glory be to Allah, the Mighty! You stayed behind and deprived us of your presence, and my son said that he did not see anyone with you. Yet you told him that you were with a group and would come as soon as you were done being taught by them!"

So Ibn al-A'rabi said:

We have companions who sit with us and do not bore us,
Loyal ones who can be trusted whether present or absent;

They benefit us with knowledge of what happened in the past,
And with intelligence, manners, and sound opinions;

With no fear of conflict or bad companionship,
And no fear from their tongue or hand;

If you say they are dead, then you lie;
And if you say they are alive, you are not far from the truth.

Translator's Note: He did not lie, as he was referring to his books as his companions. This is from the category of ma'arid (indirect or metaphorical speech), which does not count as lying, as was authentically narrated from 'Imran ibn Husayn, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, and Ibn 'Abbas.

2416

It was said to Abu al-'Abbas Ahmad ibn Yahya (Tha'lab):

"The people have greatly missed you. If only you would leave your house for a short while and show yourself to them, so that they could benefit from you and you could benefit from them."

He remained silent for an hour, then said:

If we accompanied kings, they would become arrogant toward us,
And belittle the rights of those in their company;

If we accompanied merchants, we would become sorrowful,
And mere counters of money;

So we remained in our homes, extracting knowledge,
And filling with it the stomachs of these pages.

2419

From what was memorized in the past:

What an excellent speaker and companion a book is!
You can seclude yourself with it when your friends bore you;

It does not reveal your secrets, nor is it arrogant,
And through it you gain wisdom and uprightness.

2420

Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad recited to me:

The sweetest thing a youth can desire after piety
Is knowledge, beautified for him to seek;

Every seeker has a pleasure he desires,
And the pleasure of the scholar is his books.

2421

He asked me to add to the above, and I immediately followed with this in his presence:

The book relieves the concerns of its reader,
And when he reads, his exhaustion disappears;

What an excellent companion it is when you are alone with it;
You do not fear it plotting against you or causing commotion.

2424

Abu 'Amr ibn al-'Ala' said:

"I never entered upon a man or passed by his door, seeing him with a book in his hand while his companion was doing nothing, except that I judged him to be the more intelligent of the two."

2425

'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz said:

"I never saw a better admonisher than the grave, anything more satisfying than a book, or anything safer than avoiding excessive socialization."

2426

Al-Hasan al-Lu'lu'i said:

"Forty years of my life passed in which I never awoke or went to sleep except that a book was resting on my chest."

Translated by Abu Sabaayaa