Know that debating with the purpose of winning and boasting is the source of vile character. A person who does this is not safe from arrogance (‘ujb) as he belittles those with less knowledge and is amazed at himself for being above so many others in the same field. He is also not safe from ostentation (riya) because what the debaters of today mostly aim at is making people know that they won the debate. They want to be covered in praise and thanks, so they spend their whole lives learning things like the art of oration and memorizing rare information, all of which makes them better debaters but are of no benefit in the Afterlife.
[The Inner Secrets Of Worship by Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi, p.30]
