Advice for the Beginner

[qisas]

Advice for the Beginner

These verses are attributed to Imām Shāfiýi:

daýi’l ayyāma tafálu mā tashā’u
wa ţib nafsan idhā ĥakama’l qađā’u
wa lā tajzaá li ĥādithati’l layālī
fa mā li ĥawādithi’d dunyā baqā’u

wa kun rajulan ála’l aĥwāli jaldan
wa shīmatuka’s samāĥatu wa’l wafā’u
wa in kathurat úyūbuka fi’l barāyā
wa sarraka an yakūna lahā ghiţā’u

yughaţţā bi’s samāĥati kullu áybin
wa kam áybin yughaţţīhi’s sakhā’u
wa lā ĥuznun yadūmu wa lā surūrun
wa lā bu’sun álayka wa lā rakhā’u

wa lā turi li’l aáādī qaţţu dhullan
fa inna shamātata’l aádā balā’u
wa lā tarju’s samāĥata min baqīlin
fa mā fi’n nāri li’ž žam’āni mā’u

wa rizquka laysa yunqişuhu’t ta’annī
wa laysa yazīdu fi’r rizqi’l ánā’u
idhā mā kunta dhā qalbin qanūýin
fa anta wa māliku’d dunyā sawā’u

wa man nazalat bi sāĥatihi’l manāyā
fa lā arđun taqīhi wa lā samā’u
wa arđu Allāhi wāsiátun wa lākin
idhā nazal al-qađā đāqa al-fađā’u

daýi’l ayyāma taghduru kulla ĥīnin
wa lā yughnī áni’l mawti’d dawā’u

–

Let time pass by, and do as it wishes;
Be strong when the decreed is delivered to you.
Wail not for your afflictions in the night
For, worldly miseries are not everlasting

When calamity strikes, face up like a man
And let your traits be that of forgiveness and fidelity
If your flaws are plenty and are manifest
And your wish is that they be concealed

Know, that forgiveness hides every fault
And how many flaws are veiled by generosity!
Neither does agony abide, nor happiness
And neither bad-times nor times of joy and comfort

Never should you seek to humiliate your enemies
Because the desire to disgrace them is in itself a malady
Do not expect forgiveness from a miser,
The parched do not quench their thirst from fire

Your sustenance will not diminish by neglect,
And it will not increase by exertion or by more toil
When you have a heart that is satisfied, content -
You will be like the one who owns the whole world

And those who have entered the sphere of death
The earth cannot hide them nor heavens
Surely, the land of Allāh is vast, but -
When misfortune strikes, the air becomes stifling

Let the world betray and deceive every moment -
No matter what; there is no escape from death.

Dīwān ash-Shāfiýī p.111; Khazānatu’l Adab 2/426; Jawāhiru’l Adab p.665

http://qisas.com/wisdom/398/print/

[Pk_#2]

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Peace