421 – Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ ibn Yaḥyā al-Tamīmī narrated to me, from his father. He said: “I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam—and I have never encountered anyone more eloquent or insightful—remark:

‘No day arrives except that it is merely on loan to the day that follows it. When the new day comes, it demands repayment: if its predecessor was good, it repays with good; if it was bad, it repays with bad. So, if you can ensure that the days you borrow are all beautiful, then do so.’

Mahmūd ibn al-Ḥasan recited to me these verses:

Yesterday has passed away—a fair and honest witness—
And after it a brand-new day has dawned for you. ⦗186⦘
If yesterday you stained yourself with sin,
Then follow it now with goodness, and you will be esteemed.
Enrich your present day and its profit will return to you,
For the yesterday that is gone will never return.
Do not defer a righteous deed until tomorrow,
Lest tomorrow come and find that you are gone.