أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو إِبْرَاهِيمَ السَّمَرْقَنْدِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ يَقُولُ: الْعَقْلُ مَاٰلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَكُلُّ مَعْرِفَةٍ لَا تَؤُولُ إِلَى الْعَقْلِ فَجَهْلٌ عَلَى جَهْلٍ، قُلْتُ: عِنْدَنَا قَوْمٌ يَتَبَرَّؤُونَ مِنَ الْعَقْلِ! قَالَ: وَهَلْ يَتَبَرَّءُ مِنَ الْعَقْلِ إِلَّا مَجْنُونٌ؟! قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ مَاٰلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ الْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ! قَالَ: وَهَلْ يُعْرَفُ الْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ إِلَّا بِالْعَقْلِ؟! الْعَقْلُ أَصْلُ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَالْكِتَابُ وَالسُّنَّةُ سُوقُهَا، وَالْخُلَفَاءُ فِي الْأَرْضِ أَغْصَانُهَا، فَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْعَقْلَ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ أَصْلَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالسُّنَّةَ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ سُوقَهَا، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الْخُلَفَاءَ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَقَدْ قَطَعَ أَغْصَانَهَا، وَكُلٌّ مَحْرُومُونَ مِنْ أُكُلِهَا وَثَمَرَتِهَا.

Translation of the saying:

Abu Ibrahim al-Samarqandi informed us, he said: I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: “The intellect is the reach point of cognition, and any cognition that does not reach the intellect is ignorance upon ignorance.” I said: “There are people with us who disown the intellect!” He said: “And does anyone but a madman disown the intellect?!” I said: “They say that the reach point of cognition is the Book and the Sunnah!” He said: “And are the Book and the Sunnah known by anything other than the intellect?! The intellect is the root of cognition, the Book and Sunnah are its trunk, and the Caliphs on the earth are its branches. So whoever abandons the intellect has cut off the root of cognition, whoever abandons the Book and the Sunnah has cut off its trunk, and whoever abandons the Caliphs on the earth has cut off its branches, and they all are deprived of its crop and fruit.”