Classical Poetry
What sets classical poetry apart is its strength and the eloquence of its vocabulary and expressions. This form of poetry adheres to a consistent rhyme scheme and a single metrical pattern, using only strong, formal Arabic words. Historically, poets would compete with each other to compose verses about various aspects of life, including wisdom, bravery, love, and more. In this article, we will present you with some of the most beautiful verses from classical Arabic poetry.
Poetry of Imam Al-Shafi’i
Imam Al-Shafi’i, born Muhammad ibn Idris Al-Shafi’i Al-Qurashi Al-Mutalabi, is attributed as the founder of the Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence. He was one of the four renowned imams of Islamic law. Al-Shafi’i was born in Gaza, Palestine, and was known as one of the most eloquent poets and most knowledgeable scholars of his time, having issued fatwas at the young age of twenty. He moved to Egypt around 199 AH, where he eventually passed away, and his tomb is located in Cairo. Here are some of his famous classical verses:
Let Days Do as They Please
Let days do as they please,
And be at peace when fate decrees.
Do not despair at the challenges of fate,
For the events of this world are never permanent.
Be a man of patience in the face of calamities,
For your virtues lie in generosity and loyalty.
Even if your faults are many before people,
Conceal them with your benevolence.
Never show humility to your enemies,
For their joy in your misfortune is a calamity.
Do not expect kindness from a miser,
As there is no water for the thirsty in hell.
Your provisions are not diminished by patience,
Nor does excessive toil increase your sustenance.
Neither sorrow nor joy lasts forever,
And you will neither suffer nor enjoy indefinitely.
Whoever is visited by death,
Will find neither land nor sky to protect them.
And the earth of Allah is expansive; however,
When fate descends, space becomes constricted.
Let days betray you at every turn,
For no remedy can save you from death.
To You, O Creator, I Raise My Hopes
To You, O Creator, I raise my hopes,
And even if I am a sinner, O Giver of bounty,
When my heart hardened and my mind narrowed,
I made hope a bridge to your forgiveness.
My sins overwhelmed me; when linked to your kindness,
Your forgiveness was far greater.
And still you are forgiving, never ceasing in your grace,
Bestowing blessings and kindness.
Without You, no devotee could withstand temptation,
How could they resist when used against your chosen one, Adam?
Oh, how I wish to be in paradise,
Rather than in the fire’s torment.
If you forgive me, you will forgive a rebellious,
Oppressive soul that never leaves sin.
And if you choose to seek vengeance upon me,
I am not one to lose hope,
Even if they lead me into hell for my crimes.
Indeed, the knowing one has tears of blood,
Cascading from the intensity of pain.
He remembers the nights of fear and confesses,
In remembrance of his Lord, he cries out.
Yet when he speaks of worldly matters, his tongue is silent.
He recalls the days of his youth,
And the ignorant deeds he committed then.
Thus, he finds companionship in anxiety,
Sharing sleepless nights when darkness descends.
He says, “My beloved, you are my desire and my aim,”
And you are enough for the seekers of bounty.
Are you not the one who nurtured and guided me,
And continually favored me generously?
May the one who grants goodness forgive my missteps,
And cover my burdens and my past.
Diverse Poems of Imam Al-Shafi’i
- The foolish confronts me with every obscenity,
And I dislike to respond to him.
His folly increases, while my patience grows,
Like a piece of wood that fragrance enhances.
- The eye that sees no flaw is blind;
However, the eye of wrath reveals all imperfections.
I do not dread the one who does not fear me,
Nor do I see a person what he himself cannot perceive.
If you draw near to me, you draw near my affection,
And if you stay away, you will find me distanced.
Both of us are rich without each other,
And when we die, we shall be more honored.
Poetry of Al-Mutanabbi
Al-Mutanabbi, Ahmad ibn Al-Hussein Al-Ja’fari Al-Kufi Al-Kindi, also known as Abū Ṭayyib Al-Mutanabbi, was born in Kufa and grew up in the Levant. He praised Sayf al-Dawla Al-Hamdani, the ruler of Aleppo, and also lauded Kafur Al-Ikhshidi in Egypt, requesting employment, which he was denied, leading to a subsequent falling-out that resulted in his satirical verses against him. He later praised ‘Adud al-Dawla in Shiraz and ultimately met his end at the hands of Fatik ibn Abu Jahl Al-Asadi near Baghdad.
Horses, Night, and the Desert Know Me
The horses, the night, and the desert know me,
As do the sword, the spear, the paper, and the pen.
I traversed the wilds, solitary,
Leaving the caves and hills amazed.
O you who find it hard to part with us,
Our hearts have turned everything after you into nothingness.
What nobility is there in us without generosity?
If your affairs were like ours, your fate would be sealed.
If what your envious ones have uttered pleases you,
Then what’s the use of a wound that pleases you?
If you had tended to that knowledge,
Then understanding among wise men is worth a prize.
How often do you search for our faults while failing?
God hates what you do, along with all generosity.
Far removed from defect, my honor lies,
I am the starry sky and you are the aging and weak.
I wish the clouds that drift with lightning,
Would be taken to the one who possesses the rains.
I find the distance pulling me each time,
And the painted art offers me no comfort.
Should they leave me with a weight upon my shoulders,
The regret will come to those I bid farewell.
When you depart a people who are capable,
Woe to the traveler: it is the traveler who suffers.
The worst of lands is one without a friend,
And the worst is what a person earns brings stigma.
The worst bounty I hunted was a miserable catch,
The hawk’s feathers are no different from doves.
With which term would you speak poetry, O eloquent one?
It cannot distinguish between Arab or non-Arab.
Take this as your reproach, except that it is strung,
With pearls within, only worded to be heard.
It Suffices as a Disease to See Death as a Cure
It suffices as an ailment to see death as a cure,
And death’s certainty brings tranquil wishes.
I wished for it when I wished to see
A friend or an enemy who would break my heart.
If you are willing to live in disgrace,
Prepare not your two-edged sword.
Do not extend the spears for an ambush,
Nor seek the noble steeds for war.
For what benefit is there to the lions from chivalry,
Nor can honor be secured unless you become fierce.
Your love was my heart’s companion before your longing,
And it had caused so much pain; leave it to your fidelity.
And I know the void will bring you pain after it,
As my heart is not yours should I see it grieve.
For the tears of the eye betray when there is a breach,
If the company of betrayals linger behind.
If generosity cascades away from harm,
Then neither gratitude nor wealth shall remain.
For the soul possesses ethics revealing with times,
Was it generosity or merely thoughtlessness?
Speak less of longing, perhaps, my heart,
You might clear the goodwill from those not worth your regard.
Crafted to love, if I return to youth,
I would part from gray hair lamenting my heart.
But with all my being I have warred upon,
My life, my advice, desire, and my verses.
And mighty we fought between her ears with words,
And we had moved lightly, leaving others behind.
They moved gently with hands, following the beauty,
Dancing across the breast of the hawks on the hunt.
While gazing into the darkness, they saw obscured forms,
Recognizing far-off figures as they truly were.
Poems about Courage
- Abu Tammam Al-Mutanabbi says:
Wisdom precedes the bravery of the brave,
It is the first, followed by the latter.
When they both unite for a noble cause,
They reach heights in excellence.
And perhaps the courageous might pierce their peers
With wisdom before they engage in battle.
If it were not for intellect,
Then even the smallest of predators would be closer to honor than mankind.
And if the souls were not noble and strategized,
Then the hands of heroes could not ascend to greatness.
If it were not for the names of swords and their gleam,
Swords would draw close, like the eyelids closing.
- The poet Ahmad Shawqi: Ahmad Shawqi was born in Cairo in 1868, where he studied law before traveling to France to further his studies, remaining there for three years. He returned in 1893 with a final degree. During World War I, the British exiled him to Andalusia, where he passed away in 1932. His notable thoughts on bravery include:
There is no death in the brave’s bravery,
Nor does cowardice extend the life of the timid.
But if the time of the young comes,
They pass, living on if their moment does not arrive.
Oh noble one, revered and esteemed,
Father of the agile spears that are swiftly swung,
Is it truly the grave that holds honor,
Or is it the dust of Yemen that mourns him?
Is it not washed away with the tears of the sorrowful,
In every grieving heart where he dwelt?
Indeed, time’s cuts drowned your son,
And you drowned his children with past grievances.
Do you remember when he passed the months,
And when he was sweet like a soft fawn?
And when he was in your surroundings as genial,
With the beauty of palaces and the fragrance of gardens?
His smile was a delight to the eyes,
And his laughter a joy to the ears?
He played with you as a foal does with its bridle,
And he, like a lion cub, echoed the roar of the lion?
He grew, standing by the den,
Kindling wars and extinguishing discord.
But what happened to him, now amongst the silent,
And rendered to oblivion as though he never existed?
I composed tears mourning him,
And adorned them with sadness and sorrow.