Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani al~Maliki reports that Imam Sufyan ibn `Uyaynah {May Allah have mercy upon them} said:
” The Hadîth are a pitfall {madilla}except for the fuqaha {legal jurists}.'”
Imam Malik’s companion `Abdullahi ibn Wahb {May Allah have mercy upon them} explains what is meant:
“Hadith is a pitfall except for the Ulamah {scholars}. Every memorizer of Hadith that does not have an Imam in fiqh is misguided, and if Allah had not rescued us with Malik and al-Layth {ibn Sa`id}, we would have been misguided.”
{Related by Ibn Abi Hatim in the introduction of al~Jarh; Ibn Abi Zayd, al~Jami` fî as~Sunan, pg. 118-119; Hafiz Yusuf ibn `Abd al~Barr, al~Intiqa’ pg. 61, Imam ad~Dhahabi and others}
