Excerpts from the Poem “Let Days Do as They Wish”
Al-Shafi’i articulates in this poem the essential characteristics that every individual should embody, particularly the virtue of good morals:
Let the days do what they will,
And be at peace when fate decrees.
Do not despair over the events of the night,
For the trials of the world are fleeting.
Be a man in the face of calamities,
With your traits being generosity and loyalty.
Even if you have many faults among people,
If it pleases you, let them be concealed.
Cover them with generosity, for every flaw,
Will be masked by what is said about generosity.
Never show humiliation to your enemies,
For the triumph of enemies is a curse.
Do not seek benevolence from a miser,
For there is no water for the thirsty in the flames.
Your sustenance will not diminish by being cautious,
Nor will hardship increase it.
Neither sorrow endures nor joy remains,
Nor is there poverty upon you nor wealth.
Excerpts from the Poem “O You Who Embrace a Transient World”
This brief piece highlights the significance of renouncing worldly desires, as the relentless pursuit of them may ultimately lead to Hell:
O you who embrace a world with no permanence,
Spend your days and nights traversing your transient realm.
Why not leave the embrace of this world,
So you may embrace eternal bliss in Paradise?
If you seek the gardens of eternity to dwell in,
Then you must never grow complacent of the fire.
Excerpts from the Poem “I Tested the Sons of the World and Found No One”
The following verses discuss the idea of detachment from worldly goods, emphasizing that true richness lies in self-sufficiency, not mere possession:
I have tested the sons of the world and found none,
Except those who are consumed by miserly ways.
I have drawn my sword from the scabbard of contentment,
And severed my hopes of relying on them.
This one does not see me standing in his path,
And that one does not see me sitting at his door.
Rich without wealth, free of need from all men,
Wealth is only truly about lacking something, not possessing it.
If a tyrant deems injustice as his path,
He persists obstinately in his ugly gains.
Let him be consumed by the passage of nights, for they will reveal,
What he never accounted for.
How many tyrants have we seen defiant,
Who believes he is above the stars in his pride?
But soon, while caught in his negligence,
The events of fate will lead him to his door.
He will find he has no wealth and no honor to be wished for,
And no good deeds to greet him in the book of his life.
And he will be recompensed for the actions he took,
And God will rain down upon him the lashes of torment.
Excerpts from the Poem “I Observe the Youth in the World When He is Virtuous”
Al-Shafi’i explains that virtue elevates a young person to the status of men, whereas without it, one holds no value:
I see the youth in this world, if he is virtuous,
He rises above men and seeks honor.
But if one, like me, possesses no virtue,
He is measured as a child playing in the streets.
Excerpts from the Poem “Indeed, God has Wise Servants”
In the following verses, Al-Shafi’i discusses the merit of renouncing worldly desires and prioritizing good deeds, once one understands their true nature:
Indeed, God has wise servants,
Who left behind the world fearing its trials.
They looked upon it, and when they knew,
That it does not offer any homeland for the living,
They made it a flood and adopted,
Good deeds as their vessels therein.
Excerpts from the Poem “If a Person Only Cares for You Out of Pretense”
Al-Shafi’i discusses an essential condition for love and friendship, which is sincerity and the absence of pretense:
If a person only cares for you out of pretense,
Then let him go, and do not lament over him.
For there are substitutes among people, and in letting go, there is peace,
And in the heart, there is patience for a lover, even if he is distant.
Not everyone you love truly loves you back,
And not everyone you are friendly with has pure intentions.
If the purity of friendship does not come naturally,
Then there is no goodness in a bond that comes from pretense.
And there is no goodness in a companion who betrays his beloved,
And meets him, after friendship, with indifference.
He who denies the life that has long passed him,
And reveals a secret that yesterday was concealed.
Peace be upon the world if it does not contain,
A sincere friend, true to his promise, justly fair.
Excerpts from the Poem “The Fire of My Soul Has Dimmed with My Age”
Al-Shafi’i reflects on the passage of time and the encroachment of gray hair:
The fire of my soul has dimmed with the burning of my hair,
And my night has darkened while its flame lit my way.
O owl that has nestled above my head,
Despite my wish when your raven took flight.
I perceived the ruin of life from within me,
And your abode among all places is its desolation.
Can I enjoy life after the cloud of aging has set upon me?
For the signs of gray are useless to conceal.
If the color of a man withers and his hair turns white,
Days become twisted and their delights sour.
So refrain from the shameful matters, for it is forbidden,
For the soul of the pious does not indulge in them.
Give your charity as it is required, knowing that it,
Is like the zakat of wealth, once the quota is met.
And be good to the free, for in doing so, you possess their hearts,
And the best of merchants is in their earning.
And do not walk arrogantly upon the earth,
For soon the dust will claim your being.
Whoever tastes the world will find its temptations,
And we have tasted its sweetness and its agony.
I have known it only as an illusion and falsehood,
Like mirages that appear on the surface of the desert.
And it is nothing but a decaying carcass,
With dogs drawn to it, eager to seize it.
If you avoid it, you will be safe among its people,
But if you are drawn to it, its dogs will pursue you.
Blessed is the soul that has longed for its own dwelling,
With closed doors and its veil drawn low.
Excerpts from the Poem “We Blame Our Time, Yet the Fault is Ours”
The forthcoming verses express the faults of individuals that pervade all, and how everyone seeks to absolve themselves by blaming time and other factors:
We blame the times, yet the fault lies within us,
And time bears no blame apart from our own.
We defame this time without just cause,
And if time could speak, surely, it would cast us as the culprits.
The wolf does not consume another wolf’s flesh,
But we devour one another openly.
Excerpts from the Poem “If You Were Given What You Desire by Reason”
Al-Shafi’i posits that there is no correlation between intellect and provisions:
If you were granted what you desired through reason,
You would not have succeeded in this world with your provisions.
You received wealth on account of ignorance and lived with it,
Thus, you are not the first madman to be overwhelmed with bounty.
Excerpts from the Poem “I was Never Content with My Fate, Regardless of What You See”
Al-Shafi’i expresses the notion that no one can change their destiny, regardless of their sorrow, and that no one can find joy in the unhappiness they experience without the ability to change it:
And I have never been satisfied with my time as you see,
But I am content with what fate has decided.
If the days have betrayed our promises,
I accept them, yet this acceptance is but a defeat.