Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 38207 — Sayings of Ikrimah

Ya'la bin Ubayd said: Once we went to visit Muhammad bin Suqah, and he said: I will tell you something that I hope will benefit you, for it has benefited me. He said: Ata bin Abi Rabah said to us: "O my nephew, those before you used to dislike superfluous speech, except that you recite the Book of Allah Almighty, the Holy Qur'an, or enjoin something good, or forbid something evil, or speak as much as is needed for the livelihood you cannot do without. Can you deny the verses of the Holy Qur'an, 'Over you are guardians, noble scribes' [Al-Infitar: 10] and 'Seated on the right and on the left; he utters no word except that beside him is a watcher, ever ready' [Qaf: 17-18]? Do you not feel ashamed that if your scroll, which you dictated in the early part of your day, were opened, most of what is in it would have no connection either with religion or with the world?"