أَخْبَرَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ عَامِرٍ ، أَخْبَرَنَا حُمَيْدُ بْنُ الْأَسْوَدِ ، عَنْ عِيسَى ، قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ الشَّعْبِيَّ ، يَقُولُ :" إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَطْلُبُ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ مَنْ اجْتَمَعَتْ فِيهِ خَصْلَتَانِ : الْعَقْلُ وَالنُّسُكُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ نَاسِكًا، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ عَاقِلًا، قَالَ : هَذَا أَمْرٌ لَا يَنَالُهُ إِلَّا الْعُقَلَاءُ، فَلَمْ يَطْلُبْهُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ عَاقِلًا وَلَمْ يَكُنْ نَاسِكًا، قَالَ : هَذَا أَمْرٌ لَا يَنَالُهُ إِلَّا النُّسَّاكُ، فَلَمْ يَطْلُبْهُ، فَقَالَ الشَّعْبِيُّ : وَلَقَدْ رَهِبْتُ أَنْ يَكُونَ يَطْلُبُهُ الْيَوْمَ مَنْ لَيْسَتْ فِيهِ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنْهُمَا : لَا عَقْلٌ وَلَا نُسُكٌ "

Saeed bin Amir told us, Humaid bin Al-Aswad told us, on the authority of Issa, he said: I heard Al-Sha’bi saying: “He was only asking for this.” Knowledge is someone in whom two qualities are combined: reason and asceticism. If he is a hermit and not sane, he will say: This is something that only sane people can attain. He did not ask for it, even if he was sane and not a hermit. He said: This is something that only hermits can attain. So he did not ask for it. Ash-Sha`bi said: And he did. “I feared that it would be sought today by someone who does not possess either of them: neither reason nor ritual.”