In one of his books entitled Sa’id al-khatir an auto biographical memoir, he writes:
I may state here my own cast of mind. I am never tired of reading of books and my joy knows no bounds whenever I find a new book. … It would appear to be an exaggeration if I say I had gone through 20,000 books during my student days. I came to know of the courage and large heartedness, erudition and tenacious memory, piety, and eagerness for prayer cherished by savants of the old, which I could not have learnt without reading those books.
The study of the books in those days also revealed to me the shallow knowledge of the scholars in our times and the dull spirits of the students nowadays.
Hafiz ibn al Jawzi
May Allah increase our love for books and reading, increase us in beneficial knowledge (ilm) and aid us in getting closer to Allah, ameen.
