As quoted in Al-Jaami' al-Saghîr by Imam al-Suyuti, where it is declared a "weak Hadith".
Variant translations:
The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr.
The Islamic Review, Vol. 22 (1934), p. 105, edited by Khwajah Kamal al-Din
The ink of scholars will be weighed in the scale with the blood of martyrs.
As quoted in Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology (2004) by John Renard
Sunni Hadith
“The blood of the heroes is closer to God than the ink of the philosophers and the prayers of the faithful.”
Source: Revolt Against the Modern World
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Julius Evola 10
Italian philosopher and esotericist 1898–1974Related quotes
“That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.”
Source: The Wise Man's Fear
“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.”
"No TIme for Neutrality", p. 107
Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity: Essays (1997)
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 221.
“Poetry is written with tears, fiction with blood, and history with invisible ink.”
Source: The Angel's Game
The New York Times October 15, 1986, MAN IN THE NEWS; WITNESS TO EVIL: ELIEZER WEISEL, By JOSEPH BERGER http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/15/world/man-in-the-news-witness-to-evil-eliezer-weisel.html
16 January 1916 Source: Geraldine Taylor. Behind the Ranges: The Life-changing Story of J.O. Fraser. Singapore: OMF International (IHQ) Ltd., 1998, 151.
“You have ink in your blood, boy, and no help for it. Books will never be just a business to you.”
Source: Ink and Bone