Let Days Go Forth…

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

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A beautiful poem by Imam al-Shafi’i

دع الأيام تفعل ما تشاء *** وطب نفسا إذا حكم القضاء
ولا تجزع لحادثة الليالي *** فما لحوادث الدنيا بقاء
وكن رجلا على الأهوال جلدا *** وشيمتك السماحة والوفاء
وإن كثرت عيوبك في البرايا *** وسرك أن يكون لها غطاء
يغطى بالسماحة كل عيب *** وكم عيب يغطيه السخاء
ولا حزن يدوم ولا سرور *** ولا بؤس عليك ولا رخاء
ولا ترج السماحة من بخيل *** فما في النار للظمآن ماء
ورزقك ليس ينقصه التأني *** وليس يزيد في الرزق العناء
إذا ما كنت ذا قلب قنوع *** فأنت ومالك الدنيا سواء
ومن نزلت بساحته المنايا *** فلا أرض تقيه ولا سماء
وأرض الله واسعة ولكن *** إذا نزل القضا ضاق الفضاء
دع الأيام تغدر كل حين *** ولا يغني عن الموت الدواء

Let days go forth and do as they please
And remain firm when settled is the Decree

Don’t be afraid of what happens by night
For the affairs of this world are not to last

And be a man, strong in the face of calamities
And let your nature be that of kindness and honesty

If your faults become too much in front of the people
And you wish that they were to be concealed,

Then know that kindness covers all faults
And how many faults are kept hidden by kindness!

No sadness lasts forever, nor any happiness
And you shall not remain in poverty, or any luxury

Generosity cannot be hoped from the miserly
For no water exists in the Fire for the thirsty

Your provision will not be decreased due to life’s delays
And it cannot be increased due to your haste

If, in your heart, you possess contentment
Then you and those who possess the world are equal

And for him upon whose horizon death descends,
No earth can offer him protection, nor any sky

Indeed, the earth of Allah is certainly vast
But if decree descends, then the world constricts

Let days be the ones that betray you at all times
For no cure can avail a person of death

Travel! For in Travel is a Benefit…

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Selected poetry from the Diwan of Imam al-Shafi’i (rahimahullah)

I recently managed to buy a very nice edition of the Diwan (Al-Shafi’i’s book of poems), complete with quotes, historical incidents and a biography bonus. So insha’Allah I’ll try translating some of his poetry and adding it to the (somewhat neglected) Mawa’idh al-Shafi’i project.

Ok, I know I have a problem staying in one city or town for a long time (you see, I’m a born explorer)… so this poem on the benefits of travelling made my day

فوائد الأسفار

The Benefits in Travelling

تغرب عن الأوطان في طلب العلى *** وسافر ففي الأسفار خمس فوائد
Leave your country in search of loftiness
And travel! For in travel there are 5 benefits,

تفرج هم واكتساب معيشة *** وعلم وآداب وصحبة ماجد
Relief of adversity and earning of livelihood
And knowledge and etiquettes and noble companionship

فإن قيل في الأسفار ذل ومحنة *** وقطع الفيافي وارتكاب الشدائد
If it is said that travelling brings humiliation and difficulty
And long journeys across deserts and toil and trouble,

فموت الفتى خير له من قيامه *** بدار هوان بين واش وحاسد
Then death is better for a person than him remaining
In a humiliating land between traitors and enviers

 

الورع

المرء إن كان عاقلا ورعا *** أشغله عن عيوب غيره ورعه
If a person is intelligent and pious
His piety occupies him from the sins of others

كما العليل السقيم أشغله *** عن وجع الناس كلهم وجعه
Just like the ill one is kept preoccupied
From the sickness of others by his own sickness

 

هكذا الحظ

Due Provision

تموت الأسد في الغابات جوعا *** ولحم الضأن تأكله الكلاب
Lions die hungry out in the wild
And the meat of sheep is only eaten by dogs

وعبد قد ينام على حرير *** وذو نسب مفارشه التراب
Indeed, a slave may end up sleeping on silk
Whilst the bed of masters turns out to be dust

أدب التعلم

The Etiquettes of Learning

اصبر على مر الجفا من معلم *** فإن رسوب العلم في نفراته
Be patient over the teacher’s strictness and harshness
For the stores of knowledge are present in his harshness

ومن لم يذق ذل التعلم ساعة *** تجرع ذل الجهل طول حياته
Whoever does not taste the humility of learning, even for an hour
Will drink the humility of ignorance for the rest of his life

ومن فاته التعليم وقت شبابه *** فكبر عليه أربعا لوفاته
For him who misses out on learning in his youth,
Then announce four takbirs over him for his death is due

حياة الفتى – والله – بالعلم والتقى *** إذا لم يكونا لا اعتبار لذاته
By Allah, the life of a youth is by knowledge and piety
If they are not present, then nothing can express his existence

Zuhd by Abul ‘Atahiyah [Adab]

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Abul ‘Atahiyah (Isma’il ibn al-Qasim) was a poet from the ‘Abbasi period. Born to a poor family, he developed love for poetry and literature which saw him travel to Baghdad and become a resident poet for the Rulers such as al-Mahdi, al-Hadi, Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma’mun.

However, after reaching the age of 40, he began to contemplate over life and death leading him to eventually kick in his habit of praising the Rulers. Instead he turned to leading a more ascetic lifestyle and embarked upon giving Da’wah – calling others to the way of Islam. As a result, he was nicknamed Abul ‘Atahiyah, meaning ‘one overcome by madness’ as the people couldn’t comprehend the drastic change in him. This change was also due to him witnessing the downfall of the Muslims as the society he lived in plunged to lavishness and immodesty (a characteristic of the ‘Abbasi era) – gone were the days when piety and indifference to the life of this world was a common factor, and so he took to returning those golden days through his poetry.

Two such poems are below:

Death

يا نفس قد أزف الرحيل *** وأظلك الخطب الجليل
O my soul, indeed departure has drawn near
And a great matter is shading over you (i.e. death)

فـتأهــبي يـا نـفـس, لا *** يلعب بك الأمــل الطـــويــل
So prepare yourself O’ soul and do not allow
Long hopes to fool or deceive you

فـلـتـنـزلـن بـمنزل *** ينسى الخليل به الخليل
You will surely be placed in a position
Where even friends will forget each other (i.e. grave)

ولـيركـبن علـيـك فـــيه *** من الــثـرى ثقل ثقــيل
And surely there shall be placed upon you
Of dirt, that which is heavy and weighty

قرن  الفناء بنا فما *** يبقى العــزيــز ولا الذلــيل
Death has become our companion and so none remain,
Neither the great, nor the dishonoured

إني إعـيذك أن يميل *** بك الهوى فـيمن يميل
I warn you from being misled by your desires
Misled amongst those who are misled

والـمــــوت آخــــر عـــــلة *** يـعـتـلها الـبـدن العــلــيــل
For indeed death is the final sickness
That every sick body shall come to feel

Zuhd

رغــيــف خــبز يـابس *** تأكــله في زاويــه
A flat and dry loaf of bread
Which you eat in a corner

وكـــوز مــاء بــارد *** تـشـربه من ساقــيــه
A cold glass of water
Which you drink from a stream

وغــرفــة ضــيقــة *** نـفـسـك فيـها خالــيــه
A narrow and constricted bedroom
Wherein you are all alone

أو مسجد منــعزل *** عن الورى في ناحــيــه
Or an isolated mosque
In a corner far from the people

تـدرس فـيه دفـتراً *** مسـتنداً بالـسـاريه
Wherein you study from a book
Fastened by the spine

معـتـبراً بمــن مضى *** من القـرون الخالــيه
Giving you news of those gone by
Of past centuries and nations

خــيــرٌ من السـاعـات في *** فيء قصـور عالـيه
Is better than moments spent
Under the shade of lofty castles

تعــقـبها عـقــوبة *** تصلى بــنار حامـيه
Only to be followed by punishment
Being burnt by fierce Fire

فــهذه وصيـــتي *** مخـبــرة بحاـليه
And so this is my parting advice
Informing you of current times

طــوبى لمن يســمعها *** تلك لعـمري كافــيه
Glad tidings to the one who hears it
That, I swear, is sufficient

فاسمع لنصح مشــفـق *** يدعى أبا العتـــاهـيــه
So listen to the advice of the worried one
The one whom they call Abul ‘Atahiyah

- Previous blog post on Abul ‘Atahiyah: ‘It’s set over us, so where to flee?’

Qur’an Bearers: Nobles of this Ummah

As-salamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Update: I’ll be on a break for about 2 months, so unfortunately no updates until after then. But I leave you with this beautiful piece below…

Imam al-Jazari’s praise for the Qur’an bearer – taken from the Muqaddimah of ‘Tayyibat al-Nashr.’

وبعد: فالإنسان ليس يشرف *** إلا بما يحفظه ويعرف
A person is not honoured or raised
Except by what he knows and has memorised

لذاك كان حاملو القرآن *** أشراف الأمة أولى الإحسان
For that reason the bearers of Qur’an
Are the nobles of this Ummah and its righteous

وإنهم في الناس أهل الله *** وإن ربنا بهم يباهي
And they are the people of Allah amongst Mankind *
And indeed our Lord has boasted of them

وقال في القرآن عنهم وكفى *** بأنه أورثه من اصطفى
He spoke of them in the Qur’an, and it is sufficient
That He gives it (the Qur’an) to those He has chosen **

وهو في الأخرى شافع مشفع *** فيه وفوله عليه يسمع
And in the Hereafter, it is an ardent intercessor
And its statement is something surely heard

يعطى به الملك مع الخلد إذا *** توجه تاج الكرامة كذا
By it a person is given the dominion and immortality
And likewise, he is given the crown of honour

يقرا ويرقى درج الجنان *** وأبواه منه يكسيان
He’ll read and ascend the ranks of Paradise by it
And his parents will also be clothed by it ***

فليحرص السعيد في تحصيله *** ولا يمل قط من ترتيله
So let a person strive to attain it
And let him never tire of its recitation.

____

* Due to the hadith: ‘Indeed Allah has people from amongst Mankind. The people of Qur’an, they are the people of Allah and His Specialties.’ [Ahmad, Ibn Majah]

** Due to the verse in Soorah Fatir:

ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا الْكِتَابَ الَّذِينَ اصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَا فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِ وَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌ بِالْخَيْرَاتِ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الْكَبِيرُ

“Then We gave the Book for inheritance to such of Our slaves whom We chose…” [Fatir: 32]

*** Due to the hadith: ‘The Qur’aan will meet its companion on the Day of Resurrection when his grave is opened for him, in the form of a pale man. It will say to him, ‘Do you recognize me?’ He will say: ‘I do not recognize you.’ It will say: ‘I am your companion the Qur’aan, who kept you thirsty on hot days and kept you awake at night. Every merchant benefits from his business and today you will benefit from your good deeds.’ He will be given dominion in his right hand and eternity in his left, and there will be placed on his head a crown of dignity, and his parents will be clothed with priceless garments the like of which have never been seen in this world. They will say: ‘Why have we been clothed with this?’ It will be said: ‘Because your son used to recite Qur’aan.’ Then it will be said to him: ‘Recite and ascend in the degrees of Paradise,’ and he will continue to ascend so long as he recites, either at a fast pace or a slow pace.’ [Ahmad, Ibn Majah]

Sometimes…

A poem dedicated to my lil’ bro… (you know who you are)

Sometimes we need to let go.

You said you sat and looked at life from a different angle.
You didn’t know the ways, ‘coz you never explored.

Sleepless nights, the sole reason
For thoughts so unstoppable
Thoughts. Sometimes that’s all we need.

So young, but you’ve lived so fully.
Experienced more than I, more than many.
Life threw its fruits at you, and thus you chose
But life is merely a course running its own course.

Decisions. It’s not a time to fail
Act wisely, choose the wiser.
Be a king, don’t be afraid to say no
Be bold, don’t be afraid to say so.
Be you, don’t be afraid at all.

Sometimes we just need to let go.

Changes are opportunities, will you take it?
Your mind envisions and your eyes sparkle
You know it’s time.
And I know it’s hard ’cause you said it so.
But I promise you, you’ll never regret.

Tests. Will you stand or will you fall?
Choices. What will it be?
It’s 2-0, but it’s not a game.
Life. Moments for the Day of Judgment.

Your ears are yours, so lend it wisely
Your eyes guide you, so watch your step
Your heart belongs to Allah, so ask Him for Help.

Make the change, and you shall be free
Go it alone if need be.

Sometimes bro, you need to let go in order to hold on.

Your sis.
May Allah protect you always.

(You best be reading this…)