Sol 6.1

  1. I have authorized you, O Abd al-Rahim, to transmit all that

    I am entitled to narrate from the written records,

  2. in the science of transmission and the science of understanding,

    and knowledge of reports found in writings, with sound bridges.

  3. Take heed, then: transmit from me what I have attained through narration

    of knowledge, whether at its watering place or its points of departure.

  4. And whatever requires long practice,

    you will attain it one day by the [power] of one who is able.

  5. All my chains of transmission are contained in a compiled work,

    which has become, in my estimation, a precious gift for the eminent.

  6. If you seek a chain of transmission, you will find it accurately recorded

    therein, reaching people of old or those of later times.

  7. My condition upon you today is the condition my peers set

    for one like you; so count it among the treasures.

  8. Keep your distance from textual misreadings and grammatical errors,

    and be most resolute in shunning errors of speech.

  9. As for my writings, though their number is

    large, I do not mention them by way of boasting.

  10. Indeed, I see them as falling short; and I myself,

    when people investigate, am the most deficient of those who fall short.

  11. If you wish to transmit them, you may do so, for I

    have opened their protected domain as plunder for gazing eyes.

Sol 6.1