A bedouin visiting Baṣrah asked its inhabitants, “Who is the leader of this area?”

They answered, “Ḥasan al-Baṣrī.”

The bedouin inquired, “Isn’t he a descendant of slaves?”

They answered, “Yes.”

The bedouin: “How then did he become their leader?”

They said, “Because our people are in need of his knowledge while he has no need of our dunyā (worldly possessions).”

The bedouin replied, “That is real leadership.”

—From Ibn al-Qayyim

al-Bā‘ith al-Ḥathīth. Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah. 1994.

وسأل بعض الأعراب رجلاً من أهل البصرة، فقال: من هو سيِّد هذه البلدة؟ قال: الحسن بن أبي الحسن البصري، قال: أمولىً هو؟ قال: نعم، قال: فَبمَ سادهم؟ فقال: بحاجتهم إلى علمه وعدم احتياجه إلى دنياهم، فقال الأعرابي: هذا لعَمْر أبيك هو السؤدد..