I did not come here to see the elephants

It was narrated regarding Yahya bin Yahya that when he was a young boy he travelled from al-Andalus to Madinah in order to study with al-Imam Malik. One day, he was attending a lesson along with Malik's students. Suddenly, someone called out: 'The elephants are here!' So, the companions of Malik all went out to look at the elephants that were passing by, except for Yahya, who stayed in his place. al-Imam Malik then said to him: 'Why did you not come out to see the elephants? I'm sure you've never seen one in al-Andalus.' Yahya replied: 'I came from my homeland to look at you, and to learn from your guidance and knowledge. I did not come here to look at elephants.' So, Malik became impressed at this boy's seriousness and called him 'The Wisest of al-Andalus.'

[''Uluww al-Himmah'; p. 78]

'The one who is (truly) imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah, and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him.'

- Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah)