Abu ʿAbdillah Muhammad ibn Idris ash-Shafi’ee 204 AH (May Allah have mercy on him) said,

شَكَوْتُ إِلَى وَكِيعٍ سُوءَ حِفْظِي… فَأَرْشَنِي إِلَى تَرْكِ الْمَعَاصِي 

وَقَالَ بِأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ نُورٌ … وَنُورُ اللهِ لَا يُؤتَاهُ عَاصِي

“I complained to Wakī’ of a deficiency in my ability to memorize ** So he instructed me to abandon sin

And he said to me that knowledge is a light ** And the light of Allah is not granted to a sinner.”