أبي - رحمه الله - قال: حدثنا محمد بن يحيى العطار، عن محمد بن أحمد بن يحيى، عن محمد بن عبد الجبار، عن بعض أصحابنا رفعه إلى أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قلت له: ما العقل؟ قال: ما عبد به الرحمن واكتسب به الجنان . قال: قلت: فالذي كان في معاوية؟ قال: تلك النكراء، تلك الشيطنة ، وهي شبيهة بالعقل وليست بعقل. وسئل الحسن ابن علي عليهما السلام فقيل له: ما العقل؟ فقال: التجرع للغصة حتى تنال الفرصة.

1. My father, may Allah grant him mercy, said: We were told by Muhammed bin Yahya al-‘Attar, from Muhammed bin Ahmad bin Yahya, from Muhammed bin Abdul-Rahman, from some of our companions, that he ascribed it to Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, that he said: I said to him: What is the intellect? He said: That which the Merciful to all is worshipped with and which the Gardens are acquired with. He said: I said: (What is) The thing that was in Mu’awiya? He said: That is cunning, that is devilry. It resembles the intellect, but it is not the intellect. Hasan ibn Ali, peace be upon them both, was asked, so it was said to him: What is the intellect? He said: To choke down the agony until you acquire a chance.