Know, dear son, that days are but hours, and hours are but breaths, and every soul is a container, hence let not any breath pass without benefit, such that on the Day of Judgement you find an empty container and feel regret!
Be aware of every hour and how it passes, and only spend it in the best possible way; do not neglect yourself, but render it accustomed to the noblest and best of actions, and send to your grave that which will please you when you arrive to it.
If I were to describe my state, then I am never content with reading books, and when I see a book that I had not seen before, it is as if I have found a treasure. … And if I said that I read 20,000 books, then in truth it would be more, and I was then still a student.
I benefitted from reading those books by observing the lives of the early people, and the extent of their memorization, their determination, their worship, the diversity of their disciplines, of which one would not know had one not read those books. Thus I disliked the current state of people and looked down on the weak determination of students nowadays. And to Allah is all praise.
(Ibn al-Jawzî in his Lafat al-Kabid fî Naṣîḥat al-Walad)
Al-’Abbas al-’Alawi on Giving Priority to What is Important
Know that your mind cannot contain everything, hence dedicate it to the important matters. Know that your money is not sufficient to enrich all people, so devote it to the rightful people. Know that your generosity cannot be enough for all the people, hence seek to reserve it for the people of grace. Know that your night and day cannot satisfy all your needs, even if you strive hard, hence divide them carefully between times of work and times of rest.
For occupying your mind with that which is unimportant is undermining what is important, and the money you spend in useless expenses you will lack when you need it for necessary ones. And the generosity you bestow on those undeserving of it will undermine you when you are unable to bestow it on people of grace. Spend your night and day on unnecessary matters and you will regret it in times of need.
Al-Ḥâfiẓ al-Imâm al-Suyûṭî mentioned that he heard his teacher say:
“Hurry, O seeker of knowledge, in three things: eating, walking, and writing.”
If you are harmed by the heat of the summer
And the dryness of autumn and the coldness of winter
And you are distracted by the beauty of sprintime
Then tell me: when will you seek knowledge?(Imâm Aḥmad ibn Fâris al-Râzî)
