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
“We have sacrificed much blood and many martyrs. Islam has sacrificed blood and martyrs.”
“The purpose of literature is to turn blood into ink.”
My Address, written in Military Prisons of Bogiati, 5 June 1971 – After beating.
Poetry, Vi scrivo da un carcere in Grecia (I write you from a prison in Greece) (1974)
“Poetry is written with tears, fiction with blood, and history with invisible ink.”
Source: The Angel's Game
“Ideas grow quickly when watered with the blood of martyrs.”
Attributed in The Cambridge Modern History (1907), ed. Adolphus William Ward et al., Vol. 10, p. 122
Source: Revolt Against the Modern World
“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
“That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.”
Source: The Wise Man's Fear
“The oppressed martyrs of our culture have shed blood that nourish the red tulips of our nation.”
An Afghan Intellect By Yama Atta & Hashmat Haidari http://www.afghanmagazine.com/articles/tarzi.html Link
