These lines are attributed to Imām Shāfiýī:
naýību zamānanā wal áybu fīnā
fa mā li zamāninā áybun siwānā
wa nahjū dhaz’zamāni bighayri dhanbin
wa law naţaqaz’zamānu lanā hajānā
wa laysa’dh dhi’bu ya’kulu laĥma dhi’bin
wa ya’kulu ba’đunā ba’đan íýānā
labisnā li’l khadāýi maśuĥa đa’anin
fa waylun li’l mughīri idhā atānā
dayānatuna’t taśannuá wat tarāyī
fa naĥnu bihi nukhādiú man yarānā
We find fault with the world, while the faults lie in our own selves.
The world is not at fault; except that we are full of flaws.
We make fun of the world for no reason,
But if others spoke about us, we were no better than be mocked at.
A wolf does not eat the flesh of another of its kind,
But we eat the flesh of each other knowingly
We have worn the sheep’s clothing to deceive the people;
But woe unto the wild animal if it strays by us!
We have reduced religion to mere show and formalities.
And thus, we deceive those who look at us
Dīwān ash-Shāfiýī p.376; Manāqib ash-Shāfiýī of al-Bayhaqī 2/84 and he said that the first four lines are additions by the copywriters; but the author of Muújam al-Udabā attributed to Shāfiýī; also, see Shiýr al-Fuqahā p.371
