ما قيل في العلم والعلماء: قال ابن الجوزي رحمه الله: كان مجلس الحسن بن علي بن العباس الملقب نظام الملك: عامرًا بالفقهاء وأئمة المسلمين وأهل التدين حتى كانوا يشغلونه عن مهمات الدولة، فقال له بعض كتابه: هذه الطائفة من العلماء قد بسطتهم في مجلسك حتى شغلوك عن مصالح الرعية ليلاً ونهارًا، فإن تقدمت أن لا يوصل أحد منهم إلا بإذن، وإذا وصل جلس بحيث لا يضيق عليك مجلسك. فقال: هذه الطائفة أركان الإسلام، وهم جمال الدنيا والآخرة، ولو أجلست كلاً منهم على رأسي لاستقللت لهم ذلك. [المنتظم 16 / 303].
Full English translationWhat was said about knowledge and scholars: Ibn al-Jawzi, may God have mercy on him, said: The council of al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn al-Abbas, nicknamed Nizam al-Mulk, was filled with jurists, imams of the Muslims, and people of piety, to the point that they distracted him from the affairs of the state. One of his scribes said to him: This group of scholars has been given so much space in your council that they have distracted you from the interests of the people day and night. If you were to decree that none of them should enter except with permission, and if they do enter, they should sit in a way that does not crowd your council. He said: This group are the pillars of Islam, and they are the beauty of this world and the hereafter. Even if I were to seat each of them on my head, I would consider it insufficient for them. [Al-Muntazam 16/303].