1856.] Origin and progress of writing down historical facts. 313 



30. Ibn, 'Awn (d. 151) said, " The men of the first century who dis- 

 approved of writing held that principle, in order that the Moslims 

 might not be detained by other books from studying the Qoran. 

 And the ancient scriptures have been forbidden, because it is impos- 

 sible to distinguish what is true in them from what is false, and 

 what is genuine from what is not so. Moreover, the Qoran renders 

 them superfluous." 



31. " Sofyan Thawry (d. 161) said, Woe to those who deposit 

 their knowledge on paper (jHsbly'. Yet Sofyan Thawry used him- 

 self to write down [7iad'yt r hes] with a view of assisting memory and 

 fixing the true version. But his wish, was that people might learn 

 ^adythes by heart. Several of the ancients assisted memory by 

 writing ^ad}'thes down, and they taught them from their writings, 

 but when they knew them well by-heart they expunged them, far 

 fear, that people might rely solely on their books." This /sadyth is 

 -related by Ibn iZanbal on the authority of Yahyk b. Sa'yd, who 

 heard the above words from the mouth of Sofyan Thawiy. 



32. "Masruq said to 'Alqamah, Write down for us Aadythes 

 which are likely to be confounded. He answered, Do you not know 

 that writing is not approved of? Masruq said, I will destroy 

 them when I have learned them by heart. Under these circum- 

 stances, said 'Alqamah, there is no harm in writing." 



33. Sho'bah relates : " Khalid JZadzdza [d. 141] said, I never 

 wrote down ^adythes uuless they were very long, and then I de- 

 stroyed them when I knew them by heart." 



34. " Mohammad [a son of the Khalif Abu Bakr] was of opinion 

 that a man ought to write down 7^adythes, but to destroy the writing 

 when he knew them by heart." 



35. "Manciir b. Mo'tamir (d. 132) disapproved of writing, but 

 subsequently he regretted not to have preserved .his' /zadythes in" 

 writing." 



36. The author says : Many men of the early ages destroyed 

 their writings previous to their death or ordered in their will that 

 they be destroyed. The following are instances of this practice : 



Ibn Tawus relates, that his father [d. 106] ordered him t<> burn 

 his writing *-**&! <j\j^ [ *y\ ] j^i &K <M , 



2 r 



