Poems by Imam ash-Shaf'i

Poem #9

Let days go forth and do as they please

And remain firm when settled is the Decree

Don’t be afraid of what happens by night

For the affairs of this world are not to last

And be a man, strong in the face of calamities

And let your nature be that of kindness and honesty

If your faults become too much in front of the people

And you wish that they were to be concealed,

Then know that kindness covers all faults

And how many faults are kept hidden by kindness!

No sadness lasts forever, nor any happiness

And you shall not remain in poverty, or any luxury

Generosity cannot be hoped from the miserly

For no water exists in the Fire for the thirsty

Your provision will not be decreased due to life’s delays

And it cannot be increased due to your haste

If, in your heart, you possess contentment

Then you and those who possess the world are equal

And for him upon whose horizon death descends,

No earth can offer him protection, nor any sky

Indeed, the earth of Allah is certainly vast

But if decree descends, then the world constricts

Let days be the ones that betray you at all times

For no cure can avail a person of death.