أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الطَّبَرِيُّ، قَالَ: قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ: الْعِلْمُ ثَلَاثَةٌ: طَلَبُهُ، وَالْعَمَلُ بِهِ، وَنَشْرُهُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ، فَمَنْ لَمْ يَطْلُبْهُ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ بِهِ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَنْشُرْهُ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ، وَجَاهِلٌ فِي الْقَوْمِ كَثَقْبَةٍ فِي السَّفِينَةِ، إِنْ لَمْ يَسُدَّهَا أَهْلُهَا أَغْرَقَتْهُمْ، وَإِنْ لَمْ تُغْرِقْهُمْ أَفْسَدَتْ مَتَاعَهُمْ.
Translation of the saying:
Abdullah ibn Habib al-Tabari informed us, he said: Mansoor said: “Knowledge is three things: seeking it, acting upon it, and spreading it among people. So whoever does not seek it is ignorant, whoever does not act upon it is ignorant, and whoever does not spread it among people is ignorant, and an ignorant person among people is like a hole in a ship; if the people on the ship do not plug it, it will drown them, and if it does not drown them, it will (at least) spoil their belongings.”
