Notable Works of Abu Al-Fath Al-Busti
Abu Al-Fath Al-Busti is a poet renowned as one of the luminous figures of the Abbasid era, known for his extensive contributions to poetry. Among his most significant works are the following poems:
- Poem: Sow Beauty Even If Out of Place.
- Poem: A Lord Invites Me to His Home.
- Poem: And the Speaker Questions How You Fared.
- Poem: O Abu Al-Qasim, You Have Enslaved My Affection.
- Poem: And What a Surprise, I Came to You as an Intercessor.
- Poem: I Speak As Your Mount Is Bound for the Wilderness.
- Poem: Do Not Overlook the Reasons for Speech and Its Timing.
- Poem: O My People, Lend Me Your Ears.
- Poem: Do Not Blame Me for the Turmoil You Observe.
- Poem: I Have Granted You Complete Sincere Affection.
- Poem: Do Not Be Troubled If You Encounter Me.
- Poem: The Shade of the Minister Is a Place of All Joy.
- Poem: Glory to Him Who Has Distinctly Distinguished Gold.
- Poem: I Have Not Seen a Gratitude Like a Prosperous Garden.
- Poem: Rise and Bring It, O Chaste One.
- Poem: Baghdad Did Not Justice When It Turned Savage.
- Poem: O You Who Have Bound My Hopes.
- Poem: It Is No Surprise That a Scholar Is Outdone by a Fool.
- Poem: O Abu Ruh, May Allah Extend Your Honor.
- Poem: Even If We Are Covered Without Cause.
- Poem: The Mark of a Person’s Gratitude Is His Praise Manifested.
- Poem: O My People, I Am a Wanderer.
- Poem: When the Worthless Scorns the Noble.
- Poem: I Am Your Weary Guest from My Travels.
- Poem: Sweeter Than Tasting the Sweetness of the Houris’ Lips.
- Poem: We Have a Friend Whose Circumstances Are Most Fortunate.
Introduction to Abu Al-Fath Al-Busti
He is Ali bin Muhammad bin Hussain bin Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz Al-Busti, commonly known as Abu Al-Fath Al-Busti. It is noted that he was born in 330 AH in a city referred to as “Bast,” currently part of Afghanistan, from which his name derives. Some claim he descends from Arab origins, as Al-Busti himself stated:
I am a servant elevated by my lineage
To the son of Shams, the timeteller of fate.
My uncle is Shams Al-Ula Al-Hashimi,
And my maternal uncle belongs to the clan of Abdul Mannan.
It is noteworthy that Abu Hatim Muhammad bin Hibban was the mentor of Abu Al-Fath Al-Busti. He distinguished himself among the scholars of his time through his exceptional knowledge, merit, poetry, and writing. Al-Busti held a high status with the Prince Sabuktakin in the Samanid dynasty of Khorasan, where he served as a scribe. He passed away in 400 AH, with some sources stating it was in 401 AH in the city of Ozjand near Bukhara, where he had been exiled.
The Poem of Wisdom
One of Abu Al-Fath Al-Busti’s most renowned and beautiful poems addresses profound truths, including lines such as:
The increase of a person in his world is a decrease,
And his profit, when not purely good, is a loss.
And every feeling that has luck has no permanence,
For its true meaning, in reality, is loss.
O you who are striving to rebuild the decay of time,
Is there not for the decay of time a reconstruction?
And O you greedy for wealth, gathering it,
Have you forgotten that the joy of wealth brings sorrow?
Detach your heart from the world and its adornments,
For its clarity is muddied, and connection is estrangement.
Pay attention to the maxims that I elaborate,
Just as rubies and pearls are articulated.
Be kind to people, and you will subjugate their hearts,
For it is kindness that often elevates humankind.
And if a wrongdoer does wrong, let there be for you,
A forgiveness in the face of his faults.
And be a supporter of hope amid the trials of time,
For the noble is always a supporter.
Cling tightly to the rope of faith,
For it is the steadfast pillar when all else wavers.
Whoever fears Allah is praised in his outcomes,
And is safeguarded from the harm of the mighty and the meek.
Whoever seeks help from anyone but Allah in his pursuits,
Then his helper is in vain and abandonment.
Whoever is a denier of good, for him,
In reality, there are no brothers or friends.