Source text:
كان الشيخ صفي الدين الهندي محمد بن عبد الرحيم الفقيه الشافعي رجلا ظريفا
: فيحكى أنه قال
وجدت في سوق الكتب مرة كتابا بخط ظننته أقبح من خطي ، فغاليت في ثمنه وأشتريته لأحتج به على من يدعي أن خطي أقبح الخطوط, فلما عدت الى البيت وجدته بخطي القديم
Translation:
Shaykh Sofiyuddin al-Hindi Muhammad bin Abdurraheem al-Faqeeh al-Shafi’e was an eloquent humorous person.
It was narrated that he once said:
“One time, I went to a bookstore and saw a book written with a handwriting which, I am convinced, is uglier than my own handwriting. Therefore, I offered a high price for the book and purchased it so that I can use it as a proof against people who claim that my handwriting is the ugliest in the world. However, when I returned home, I realized that the one I just bought was actually written with my old handwriting…”
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Translated by Pak Ngah
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Notes:
- Due to my own ignorance, I am not aware of who Shaykh Sofiyuddin al-Hindi was. But I googled his name and found his biography online which describes him as a scholar born in the Indian sub-continent in the year 644 AH. Perhaps I will attempt to produce a translation of his biography which I came across at the following website: http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=237812
- I think I will attempt to translate that biographical piece in a later post, perhaps the next one.
- UPDATE: I need to delay the translation of Shaykh Sofiyuddin al-Hindi’s biography due to the complexity of the task.
decipher 