Wisdom: ʿAmr ibn Maʿdīkarib said, “Gentle speech softens hearts that are harder than stone, while harsh speech hardens hearts that are softer than silk.”

Wisdom: The sage said, “Sorrow is an illness of the soul just as pain is an illness of the body, and joy is nourishment for the soul just as food is nourishment for the body.” A sage once asked a man to lend him a dinar, but the man refused. The sage remarked, “You withheld it only to make my face flush with shame once; had you lent it to me, my face would not have turned pale from your demands for repayment once—but a thousand times.”

Wisdom: The sage said, “Whoever sows while his soil is still damp gains nothing equal to its value. One who possesses neither reason nor stature is a tree without fruit. Whoever draws the sword of injustice will be slain by it. Whoever refuses to deal justly with himself will never escape his own remorse. Whoever opens his hand in generosity will see his face shine with light. Whoever fails to guard himself against his sin remains bound to it. Youth is a nursling of recklessness, whereas old age is the companion of success and calm. Stock up on pure provisions and fear no adversaries.”

Admonition: Luqman said, “I was traveling along a road when I saw a man clad in a rough cloak. I asked, ‘What are you, sir?’ He replied, ‘A human being.’ I said, ‘What is your name?’ He answered, ‘Let me first see by what I am to be named.’ I asked, ‘What is your occupation?’ He said, ‘Refraining from harming others.’ I asked, ‘What do you eat?’ He replied, ‘Whatever feeds and waters me.’ I asked, ‘From where does it come?’ He said, ‘From wherever He wills.’ I said, ‘Glad tidings to you and coolness of eye.’ He responded, ‘What keeps you from sharing in those glad tidings and that coolness of eye?’”

Wisdom: It is said, “Three things remove the blindness of the heart: keeping company with a scholar, the fulfillment—”