Poetry of Imaam Shaafi'i Rahimahullah

صَدِيقٌ لَيْسَ يَنْفَعُ يَوْمَ بُؤْسٍ * قَرِيبٌ مِنْ عَدْوٍّ فِي القِيَاسِ
وَمَا يَبْقَى الصَّدِيقُ بِكُلِّ عَصْرٍ * وَلاَ الإِخْوَانُ إِلاَّ لِلتَّآسِي
عَبَرْتُ الدَّهْرَ مُلْتَمِسَاً بِجُهْدِي * أَخَا ثِقَةٍ فَأَلْهَانِي التِمَاسِي
تَنَكَّرَتِ البِلاَدُ وَمَنْ عَلَيْهَا * كَأَنَّ أُنَاسَهَا لَيْسُوا بِنَاسِ

A friend who does not benefit at the time of hardships,
Is close to an enemy on the scales,
The friend does not remain, during all times,
Nor does the brother, except for consolation.
I searched the days, with all my strengths
for a brother to trust, but my search was fruitless,
The lands and those who live them were barren,
As though its people were not people [I wanted them to be]

إِذَا الْمَرْءُ أَفْشَى سِرِّهُ بِلِسَانِهِ * وَلاَمَ عَلَيْهِ غَيْرَهُ فَهُوَ أَحْمَقُ
إِذَا ضَاقَ صَدْرُ المَرْءِ عَنْ سِرِّ نَفْسِهِ * فَصَدْرُ الَّذِي يُسْتَودْعُ السِّرَّ أَضْيَقُ

If a man spreads his secret with his own tongue
and blames another... then he is a fool.
If his own breast is too narrow to conceal his own secret,
Then the breast of the one in whom he places it is even narrower.

و من الشَقاوة أن تحبَ
و من تحبُ يحبُ غيرك
أو أن تريد الخير للأن
سان و هو يريد ضيرك

"And from misery is that you love, and (the one) who you love, loves other than you, or that you want good for a person, and he wants to hurt you".

شكوت إلى وكيع سوء حفظي** فأرشدني إلى ترك المعاصي
وقــال إن علم الله نـــــــورٌ ** ونور الله لا يعطى لعاصي

Shakawtu Ilaa Wakee` Soo'a Hifdhee -- Fa-arshadanee Ilaa Tark al-Ma`aasee
Wa Qaala Inna `Ilma Allaahi Noorun -- Wa Nooru Allaahi La Yu`taa Li `Aasee

“I complained to Wakee` about my bad memory, and he taught me that I should keep away from sin.
He said that knowledge of Allaah is light, and the light of Allaah is not given to the sinner.”

الحض على الترحال

ما في المقام لذي عقلٍ وذي أدبٍ----------من راحة فدع الأوطان واغترب


سافر تجد عوضاً عمن تفارقه----------وانصب فإن لذيذ العيش في النصب


إني رأيت وقوف الماء يفسده----------إن ساح طاب وإن لم يجر لم يطب


والأسد لولا فراق الأرض ما افترست----------والسهم لولا فراق القوس لم يصب


والشمس لو وقفت في الفلك دائمة ً----------لملها الناس من عجم ومن عرب


والتبر كالترب ملقي في أماكنه----------والعود في أرضه نوع من الخطب


فإن تغرب هذا عز مطلبه----------وإن تغرب ذلك عز كالذهب


There is no peace of mind for the one with intellect and sophistication in remaining stationary - so leave homelands and and go to foreign fields,

Travel! You will find a replacement for what you have left. Crash out! The sweetness of life is in crashing out,

I have seen that standing water stagnates, if it flows it nourishes, and if it doesn't run, it doesn't nourish,

If the lion doesn't leave his den he can't hunt, and if the arrow doesn't leave the bow it won't strike,

If the sun stood still in its course then people, Arab and non-Arab, would become bored,

Gold dust is as the earth thrown in its places, and oud is a type of firewood in its ground,

If one travels this, his ambition is honoured. If one travels this, he is honoured like gold

لمن نعطي رأينا

ولا تعطين الرأي من لايريده

فلا أنت محمود ولا الرأي نافعه

To the one we give our opinions

And do not give your opinion to one who does not want it
For you are not praiseworthy and the opinion will not benefit him

فضل السكوت

وجدت سـكوتي متجرا فلزمتــه *** إذا لم أجد ربحا فلست بخاسر

وما الصمت إلا في الرجال متاجر *** وتاجره يعلو على كل تاجــر

Virtue of Silence

I found my silence to be a transaction so I adhered to it
If I don’t find a profit, then I am not a loser
And silence in men is not but a transaction
And its trader is elevated above every other trader

أبواب الملوك

إن الملوك بـلاء حيثما خـلـوا *** فلا يكن لك في ابوابهم ظــل

ماذا تؤمل من قوم إذا غضبـوا *** جاروا عليك وإن أرضيتهم ملوا

فاستعن بالله عن ابوابهم كرمـا *** إن الوقوف على أبوابهــم ذل

Doors of the Kings

Truly the Kings are a tribulation wherever they withdraw to
So don’t let there be a shade for you at their doors
What can be hoped from a people that if they are angry
they oppress you and if you please them they become bored?
So seek help with Allaah most kindly from their doors
Truly standing at their doors is a humiliation

لسانك لا تذكر به عورة امرئ *** فكلّـك عورات وللناس ألسـن

وعينك إن أبدت إليك معايباً *** فدعها وقل : يا عين للناس أعينُ

Let not your tongue mention the shame of another
For you yourself are covered in shame and all men have tongues.
If your eye falls upon the sins of your brother
Shield them and say: "O my eye! All men have eyes!"

المثل الأعلى

إن الفقيـه هو الفقيـه بفعلـه *** ليس الفقيه بنطقه ومقالـه
وكذا الرئيس هو الرئيس بخلقه *** ليس الرئيس بقومه ورجاله
وكذا الغني هو الغني بحالــه *** ليس الغني بملكه وبمالــه

The Highest Example

Truly the Faqih is a Faqih because of his actions
Not because of his articulated speech or saying
And likewise a leader is a leader because of his nature
Not because of his nation or his men
And likewise a rich man is a rich man due to his state
And not due to his possessions or wealth

من ذا الذي قد نال راحة سره * في عسره إن كان أو في يسره
فأخو التجارة خـائف مترقب * مما يلاقي من خسارة أمره
وأخو الوزارة حـائر متفـكر * مما يقاسي من نوائب دهره
وكذلك السلطـان في أحكامه * رهن الهموم على جلالة قدره
ولقد حسدت الطير في أوكاره * فوجدت أكثر ما يصاد بوكره
تالله لو عـاش الفتى من دهره * ألفا من الأعوام مالك أمره
متلـذذا فيهـا بكل مليـحة * متنعما فيها بنعمى عصره
لا يعتريـه السقـم فيها مرة * أبدا ولا تطرا الهموم بفكره
وصفت له الأيـام حتى إنـه * لا تنطق الأصوات عند مقره
ما كان ذلك كلـه ممـا يفي * بمبيت أول ليلة في قبره

Who has found true peace of mind
In better, or perhaps in worse?
The businessman is worn with fear
Of loss in his commerce
The statesman lives in fretful dread
Of times and tides adverse
The potentate, for all his power
In thrall to angst and fears
For after every glad report
Comes news that rocks his piers
I’d envy the birds, but the nest, I found
Is oft where the kill occurs
By Allah, if a man had to live, in control
Of his life, for a thousand years
Indulging in every beauty’s delight
In a bliss that for life endures
With never an illness obstructing his way
And he never a worry incurs
And tranquility reigns, and his days are serene
And no noise ever reaches his ears—
None of that would avail him the first night spent
In the grave, when he ends his year