341 – Abū Saʿīd al-Madīnī narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd Allāh narrated to us; my father narrated to me that ʿUtbah ibn Abī Sufyān said to the tutor of his children:

“Abū ʿAbd al-Ṣamad, let the very first step in reforming my sons be the reform of your own self, for their faults are fastened to your fault. In their eyes, whatever you do is good, and whatever you find reprehensible they will deem reprehensible.

Teach them the Book of Allah, but do not make them weary of it so that they abandon it, nor keep them from it so that they neglect it. After that, give them a taste of hadith—those most appealing—and of poetry the lines that are most profound. Do not move them from one field of knowledge to another until they have mastered the first, for crowding the ear with too many words misleads the understanding.

Be to them like a physician who does not hurry with the medicine until he has located the illness. Keep them away from women and occupy them with the biographies of the sages. Discipline them in my stead and do not rely on me, for I have relied on your competence. And whenever you seek an increase for them, I shall increase your reward.”