Caution: Translations of Quran and Ḥadīth may lead to possible misapplications and misinterpretations. This site is intended for students of sacred knowledge that are proficient in comprehending classical Arabic and have a strong foundation in Islamic sciences. Also note that religious injunctions rely on several aspects beyond what one may glean through reading individual aḥādīth.
Qurʾān Bukhārī Muslim Nasāʾī Abū Dāwūd Tirmidhī Ibn Mājah Mālik Aḥmad Dārimī Ḥākim Ibn Ḥibbān Ṭabarānī Nasāʾī's Kubrá Bayhaqī al-Luʾluʾ wa-al-Marjān Ibn Rajab's Fifty Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn Aḥmad's Zuhd Suyūṭī
ahmad-zuhd:1516 – ʿAbdullāh > Yūsuf b. Yaʿqūb Abū Yaʿqūb al-Ṣaffār a freed slave of Banī Umayyah > Abū Usāmah > Sufyān > ʿImrān al-Qaṣīr > Jāʾ a man > al-Ḥasan Fasaʾalah > Masāʾil Faʾajābah

[Machine] The man said, "O Abu Sa'id, indeed the scholars say such and such." Al-Hasan replied, "And have you seen with your own eyes a jurist? The true jurist is one who is ascetic in this world, desiring the Hereafter, and insightful in his own sins, continually worshipping his Lord."  

الزهد لأحمد:١٥١٦ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ أَبُو يَعْقُوبَ الصَّفَّارُ مَوْلَى بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ الْقَصِيرِ قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى الْحَسَنِ فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ مَسَائِلَ فَأَجَابَهُ فَقَالَ

الرَّجُلُ يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ إِنَّ الْفُقَهَاءَ يَقُولُونَ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَقَالَ لَهُ الْحَسَنُ «وَهَلْ رَأَيْتَ بِعَيْنِكَ فَقِيهًا إِنَّمَا الْفَقِيهُ الزَّاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ الْبَصِيرُ بِذَنْبِهِ الْمُدَاوِمُ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ»  

See similar narrations below:

Collected by Dārimī, Aḥmad's Zuhd
darimi:302 – al-Ḥasan b. ʿArafah > al-Mubārak b. Saʿīd > Akhīh Sufyān al-Thawrī > ʿImrān al-Minqarī

[Machine] I once said to Al-Hasan regarding something he said, "O Abu Sa'id, this is not how jurists speak." He replied, "Woe onto you! Haven't you seen that a jurist is merely an ascetic in this world, desiring the hereafter, knowledgeable in religious affairs, and continuously dedicated to worshipping his Lord?"  

الدارمي:٣٠٢ – أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَرَفَةَ حَدَّثَنَا الْمُبَارَكُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ أَخِيهِ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ الْمِنْقَرِيِّ قَالَ

قُلْتُ لِلْحَسَنِ يَوْمًا فِي شَيْءٍ قَالَهُ يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ لَيْسَ هَكَذَا يَقُولُ الْفُقَهَاءُ فَقَالَ «وَيْحَكَ وَرَأَيْتَ أَنْتَ فَقِيهًا قَطُّ إِنَّمَا الْفَقِيهُ الزَّاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ الْبَصِيرُ بِأَمْرِ دِينِهِ الْمُدَاوِمُ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ»  

ahmad-zuhd:1513 – ʿAbdullāh > Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Hamdānī > Muḥammad b. ʿAbdullāh b. Numayr > Ibn Yamān > Sufyān > ʿImrān al-Qaṣīr > al-Ḥasan And Saʾalah a man > Innī Saʾalt Faqīh

[Machine] "And have you ever seen a scholar, not your father, as a faqih and a zahid in this world, who is aware of his own sins and consistently engages in worshiping his Lord?"  

الزهد لأحمد:١٥١٣ – حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْهَمْدَانِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ يَمَانٍ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ عَنْ عِمْرَانَ الْقَصِيرِ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الْحَسَنَ وَسَأَلَهُ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ إِنِّي سَأَلْتُ فَقِيهًا فَقَالَ

«وَهَلْ رَأَيْتَ فَقِيهًا لَا أَبَا لَكَ إِنَّمَا الْفَقِيهُ الزَّاهِدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا الْبَصِيرُ بِذَنْبِهِ الْمُدَاوِمُ عَلَى عِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ»