Abu Malik spoke a word and advised the youth therein.

Abu Malik: We say, O brothers, that such blessed gatherings should not be frequent, but rather rare, especially when a group of young people like this gathers. The youth, as some writers or modern sages describe them, are the nerve of life, and there is no doubt that this description is largely true of the youth. The youth are always, despite their description, characterized by enthusiasm, strong momentum, intense impulsiveness, a lack of deliberation in many cases, and following emotion rather than standing by the correct judgments of reason, let alone standing by or internalizing the judgments of the Shari'ah. Therefore, I say first: May Allah reward our Shaykh with good for what He has bestowed upon us of the knowledge and wisdom Allah has granted him. And I say secondly: O fellow elders—and I do not mean by "elders" the leaders or the great scholars or the scholars, but rather the elderly in age—we are now on the ship of the eternal journey that does not return to the shore a second time, while you are now standing on the shores, looking at the waves of the sea as they crash, and at its waters as they rise and fall, and at the ships sailing in this ocean or this sea. You look at them and contemplate what will be the fate of the person who stands on the shore if he dips his foot in the water, or boards this ship or steamer, or swims in this wave, or dives into this sea. You look and wonder. So what I advise you of is three things: First, that you turn to knowledge with the turning that protects you from the ignorance that prevails in the world of people, for ignorance is the hallmark of backwardness. The further a person moves away from knowledge, the closer he gets to Satan and the further from the Most Merciful; and the closer he gets to knowledge, the closer he is to the Most Merciful and the further from Satan. This is the first. As for the second, that you love one another for the sake of Allah the Exalted and Majestic, and that none of you harbors resentment in his chest or malice in his soul, or a surge of anger that might lead him to harm his brother. How good it is for a person to sleep his long night with a sound heart, free from the plagues or diseases that spread in the world of people through competition for this world, turning toward it, and turning away from the Hereafter. This is the second. As for the third, that you always keep in mind that at an age like yours, you are closest to receiving matters with precise, conscious reception, so that nothing escapes you. So you must utilize your youth and your psychological and intellectual capacities to grasp many issues and circumstances, both scientific issues and social circumstances, by which it is written for you to be, if Allah wills, among the wise in this world, for knowledge generates wisdom, and knowledge of circumstances enables a person to understand history and the world of people. Thus, he becomes wise through his knowledge and his understanding of the conditions of humanity. These are three matters, or three issues, that I wished to advise myself with, and as I told you, I have already boarded that ship which is now moving toward the unknown, and we do not know whether there will be a meeting between us and you or not. So this is my advice to you, and I conclude this blessed gathering with the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he advised one of his Companions: And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and his Companions and the prophets who are his brothers.