“O Ahnaf, the more one laughs …”

Umar Ibn Abdul Aziz said to Al-Ahnaf bin Qays:

قال لي عمر بن عبد العزيز: يا أحنف، من كثر ضحكه قلت هيبته، ومن مزح استخف به، ومن أكثر من شيء عرف به، ومن كثر كلامه كثر سقطه وقل حياؤه، ومن قل حياؤه قل ورعه، ومن قل ورعه مات قلبه

“O Ahnaf, the more one laughs, the less dignity will he posses. Whoever jokes (excessively or indecently) is a person who will be taken lightly. Whoever does something frequently will become known by that thing. Whoever speaks often, errs often; the more often one errs, the less modesty will he posses; whoever has a low level of modesty will also have a low level of piety; and when one has a low level of piety, then his heart dies.”

["Tarikh Umar", 200].