Runaway Scholars

It is reported that Al-Fuḍayl b. ʿAyyāḍ – Allāh have mercy on him – said:

It has reached me that the scholars of old would practice what they learned when they learned it, and through practicing they would become occupied, and because of being occupied, they would be missed, and when they were missed they were sought after, and when they were sought after they would flee.

Al-Dhahabi, Siyar ʾAʿlām Al-Nubalāʾ 8:439,440