From Sufism’s Sacred Fihi ma Fihi: Discourse of Rumi : 18-19, Part 2 of 2

Rumi said: Someone said to Taj al-Din Quba’i, “These doctors of divinity live amongst us and deprive the people of their religious beliefs.” Taj al-Din Quba’i answered,“They do not live amongst us and take away our beliefs. God forbid they could ever be one of us.” No one becomes a scholar by virtue of robe and turban. Scholarship is a virtue in its very essence, and whether that virtue is clothed in tunic or overcoat, it makes no difference. Seek humanity: that is your true purpose. The rest is mere long-windedness. When words are elaborately decorated, their purpose is forgotten. The purpose is the root of the matter; the rest is merely a headache.