News: The Burner of Lives

News Burns Lifespans

The Importance of Knowledge Over News

Translation by Nancy Qanqar. Why do people need last year's events? Because they have ended. They might need them one day, and if the next year comes, they will need the one after that. But if you learn knowledge, people will need you throughout time. This is what benefits you. And if a person rises and becomes influential in the nation, then he will influence events. Does he raise his head by mere utterance? We say he raises his head according to his influence. So, he should not be carried away by himself, raise his head, and think that people in the East and West obey his command, then delve into things that burn his lifespan.

Therefore, I say that among the greatest things that burn lifespans is news. And here, in raising a person's head, hand, and tongue, as well as his indulgence in desires, if it does not benefit, it harms. And perhaps it harms even the reformers.

Dangers of Delving into Events Without Knowledge

I have seen many young people who delve into disputes and events that pass by, and after a few years, they regret it. I have seen much of this, to the extent that some young people do not listen to advice. I call upon them for days to correct their path. For stubbornness, it takes one year, two years, three years, and then he changes. This burns or wastes years in events where he does not benefit or influence. If you speak to some of the youth, you will find that they say: Does anyone listen to your words or submit to you? He says: No, not even the people of his house submit to him or listen to his words. So, why do you delve into such things?

A Call to Seek Knowledge

You must seek knowledge and fortify yourself with it, for this is what remains with a person. If the students of knowledge had taken care of the issues of knowledge as they take care of the news today, they would have become like our Imams Abu Hatim, Abu Zur'ah, and Ibn Ma'in. You would find that a single event, they know its place, who delved into it, and who participated in it, as well as the analyses that came from the analysts in the East and West. In the end, if this event passes, it will occupy a part of his lifespan and mind, and he will gain nothing from it.