Become A Scholar If You Are Able

Umar ibn Abdil-’Aziz said:

Become a scholar if you are able.
If you are not able, then be a student.
If you can not,then show love for them.
If you are unable to do that,then (at least) do not hate them.

[Ibn Abdil-Barr in Jaami'u Bayaanil-'Ilmi wa Fadhlihi, #143]

Likewise Fudail Ibn Iyyad was asked: “Until when one should seek knowledge?“
He said: “Until the inkwell is emptied in his grave.“