Al-Hasan al-Basri (rahimahullah) said: “Seeking knowledge at a young age is like engraving on stone.”

‘Alqamah (rahimahullah) said: “What I memorised when I was young is as if I see it written on a parchment or a piece of paper.”

Al-Hasan ibn Ali (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said to his sons and the sons of his brother: “Learn knowledge, for if you are the youth of a people today, you will be their elders tomorrow. Whoever cannot memorise should write it down.”

Al-A‘mash (rahimahullah) said: “When I was a young boy, Ibrahim said to me regarding knowledge concerning an obligation, ‘Memorise this, for you may be asked about it [in the future].'”

Urwah ibn al-Zubayr (rahimahullah) used to say to his sons: “O my sons, the least appreciative people of a scholar are his own household. So come to me and learn from me, for you will soon be the elders of your people. I was once a youth who was unnoticed, but when I reached maturity, people began asking me questions, and there is nothing more burdensome for a person than to be asked about something concerning his religion and to be ignorant of it.”

Ibn al-Anbari narrated: My father recited to me some lines of poetry:

 
فَهَبْنِي عَذَرْتُ الْفَتَى جَاهِلًا 
فَمَا الْعُذْرُ فِيهِ إِذَا الْمَرْءُ شَاخَا 

“Even if I excuse a youth for being ignorant, 
What excuse does an old man have if he remains so?”

It used to be said: “Whoever disciplines his son when he is young will find comfort in him when he is older.”

Ibn Aghbas said in some lines of poetry:

 
مَا أَقْبَحَ الْجَهْلَ عَلَى مَنْ بَدَا 
بِرَأْسِهِ الشَّيْبُ وَمَا أَشْنَعَهُ 

“How ugly is ignorance in one who has grown old,
with grey hair now showing; how repulsive is that!”

Muhammad ibn Munadhir said [in some lines of poetry]:

 
وَإِذَا مَا يَبِسَ الْعُودُ عَلَى 
أَوَدٍ لَمْ يَسْتَقِمْ مِنْهُ الْأَوَدُ 

“And when the branch dries while still crooked, 
It will never be straightened.”

And it is said in a proverb related to this:

“Clay can only be molded when it is moist.” (So likewise a person can be molded while at a young age)

Ibn Shihab (al-Zuhri) (rahimahullah) said to a group of youth: “Do not belittle yourselves because of your young age; for when a difficult matter arose for Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiyallahu ‘anhu), he would call upon the youth and consult them, seeking the sharpness of their minds.”

Ibn Abbas (radiyallahu ‘anhuma) said: “When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ passed away, I was a young man. I said to a young man from the Ansar, ‘O so-and-so, let us go and ask the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and learn from them, for they are many.’ He replied, ‘How strange of you, O Ibn Abbas! Do you think people will need you while the companions of the Messenger of Allah are still on the earth?’ So, I left and turned to asking questions and seeking the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Whenever I heard of someone who had heard a hadith from the Messenger of Allah, I would go to him. I would find him napping during the midday, so I would spread my cloak on his doorstep and the wind would blow dust onto my face until he came out. When he came out and saw me, he would say, ‘O cousin of the Messenger of Allah, what brings you here?’ I would say, ‘A hadith that I heard you narrate from the Messenger of Allah, and I wanted to hear it directly from you.’ He would then say, ‘Why didn’t you send for me, so I could come to you?’ I would reply, ‘I am more deserving of coming to you.’ After that, when the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had passed away and people began to need me, that same man would see me and say, ‘You were smarter than I was.'”

Umar (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said: “Seek Islamic knowledge before you are placed in positions of leadership.”

Luqman the Wise said to his son: “O my son, seek knowledge while you are young, for seeking knowledge is difficult for the elderly.”

Ibn Mas’ud (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said: “You should seek knowledge, for none of you knows when people will be in need of him or of what he possesses.”

Source: Selected from Jami‘ Bayan al-Ilm wa-Fadlihi (1/354-372)