Imaam Ahmad (rahimahullaah) used to say:
إذا مَا خَلَوتَ الدَّهْرَ يومًا فلا تَقُلْ *** خَلوتُ ولكن قُلْ عليَّ رَقِيبُ
ولا تحْسَـبنَّ اللـهَ يَغْفِـل ساعَـةً *** ولا أنّ مَا تخفَي عَليه يَغِيبُ
ألم تر أنّ اليومَ أسْرعُ ذاهِبٍ *** و أنّ غداً للناظِرين قَريبُ
“If you spend a day in solitude, do not say
I spent it in solitude, but say over me is a Watcher
And do not think that Allaah is oblivious for even an hour
or that what you try to hide from Him is unseen
Do you not see that today is leaving fast
And that tomorrow for the onlooker is indeed near?
____________________________________
It is said that Maalik ibn Dinaar (rahimahullaah) once went to the graveyards and said:
أتيتُ القبور فناديتها *** أين المعَظَّمُ و أين المُحْتَقِرُ
و أين المُلَبِّى إذا ما دَعا *** و أين العَزِيز إذا ما افتَخِرُ
و أين المُدَلّ بِسُلْطَانِه *** و أين القوِِّىُّ أذا ما قدَرُ
“I approached the graves and called out to it
‘Where is the exalted one and where is the debased?
Where is the caller when he did call out
And where is the powerful when he did boast
Where is the one who was arrogant in his reign
And where is the strong one when he did gain power?’
فسمع صوتاً يقول له
تفَانوا جَمِيعاً فما مُخْبر *** و مَاتوا جَميعاً و ماتَ الخبرُ
تروح و تغدو بنات الثرى *** فَتَمْحُو مَحاسِنَ تلك الصُوَر
فيا سائِلى عن أناسٍ قد مَضَوا *** أمَّا لك فِيما تَرى مُعْتَبِر
So he heard a voice say:
All have fleeted, so there is no informer
And all have died and so did the news
The daughters of the rich come and go
So they wipe away the beauty of such a picture
So O questioner of a people who have gone by
Is there not in what you see, a lesson indeed?
____________________________________
Al-Abrash said (and this is also attributed to ‘Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak and ash-Shaafi’ee, rahimahumullah):
تعلَّم فليس المرءُ يولَد عالَماً *** و ليس أخو عِلمٍ كَمَن هو جاهِلُ
و أنّ كبيرَ القومِ لا عِلم عندَه *** صغيرٌ إذا التفَّت عليه المَحافِلُ
Learn! For a person is not born a scholar
And the companion of knowledge is not like the ignorant
And no knowledge is insignificant for the noble one of a nation
If the masses themselves turn towards it
____________________________________
Al-Muntasir ibn Bilaal al-Ansaari:
و لن يَهلِكَ الإنسانَ إلا إذا أتى *** مِن الأمر ما لم يرضهُ نصحاؤه
و أقلل إذا ما قلتَ قولاً, فإنه *** إذا قلَّ قول المرء قلَّ خطـاؤه
A person can never be ruined unless he approaches
A matter which is not pleasing to his sincere advisors
And lessen your speech when you do speak,
For when the speech of a person is lessened, their mistakes are lessened
_______________________________
[Most of these abyaat have been taken from the book ‘Rawdhatul-‘Uqalaa wa Nuzhat al-Fudhalaa’ by Ibn Hibbaan]
I always forget and come back to this site and always happy to come across it again. Beautiful poetry. So happy I was able to follow half of it with no problem. Its great to see progress, even if just a little. Please keep up the posts, I’ve enjoyed all the last few ones I just read, and please keep me in your ad’iyyah.
[And of course Alhamdulillah that I’ve progressed without doing anything, indeed, ما شا الله
Masha-Allah, Beautiful poems indeed with fundamental meaning.
Someone mentioned your blog to me, describing it as a “jewel” – they haven’t lied. I wish, like you, I had a good grasp of both Arabic and English! Keep writing walaal…
Wa-salaam!
Jazakallah for sharing this beautiful piece ith us
Wasalam
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakatuh,
Jazakaak Allahu khayr for the poems. Ma sha Allaah some good wisdom. Would you by any chance be able to post the arabic and english of the well dying words of Imaam Shafi’ee where he hopes and asks for the mercy and forgiveness of Allaah (swt).
Any other poems on the rememberance of death and Paradise etc would be nice as well. Jazaak Allaahu khayr.
Assalaamu alaykum
Fajr – Salaamu aleykum warahmatulaah, Jazaak allaahu khayrn, may Allah azza wa jal rewrd you abundantly! maasha’allah this post really inspired me to reflect baraak allaahu fiik
Fulaan – Salaamu aleykum warahmatulaah, I think I have the words of Imaam shafi’i rahiimahulaah;
Imam Ash-Shaafi`ee (may Allah have Mercy on him)
Al-Muzni who is Aboo lbraaheem Isma`eel ibn Yahya said:
“I entered upon ash-Shaafi’ee during his illness which resulted in his death, so I said to him: ‘What is your condition?’ He replied: “I am journeying from this world, and departing from my brothers, drinking from the cup of death, and upon Allaah – Exalted is His remembrance – arriving. And no! By Allaah, I do not know if my soul is travelling towards Paradise or the Fire!” Then he started to weep, and he said:
‘In You, the Creator, I raise my longing, And even if I am, O possessor of kindness and generosity, an evildoer, a criminal,
When my heart became constricted and my paths became narrow,
I took my hope in Your pardon and forgiveness as an opening and an escape,
My sins seemed very great to me but when I compared them to Your forgiveness,
I found Your forgiveness to be greater,
You are and still remain the only One who can forgive sins,
You grant and forgive out of Your benevolence and generosity,
Perhaps the One who is the source of all goodness will forgive and overlook my mistakes,
And will hide the sins and burden that I accumulated,
My sins seemed very great to me, so I turned (to You) in humility,
Were it not for my contentment in you, I wouldn’t, O my Lord, have seen any comfort at all,
So if You forgive me, You would have forgiven a sinner, A rebellious, oppressive tyrant still sinning,
So my crime is very great, past and present, But Your forgiveness that embraces Your servant is greater and higher,
So whomsoever holds fast to Allaah is truly saved from mankind, And whomsoever’s hopes are in Him, will be far removed from any regrets.’
In translating these lines of poetry I have exercised a certain degree of freedom in order to preserve the emotive content as well as making it readable in the English language. [Translator Note]
Diwaan ash-Shaafi`ee From “Three Forgotten Prayers” by `Adnaan Aali
`Uroor © Call to Islam Da`wah Center, UK 1997
insha’allah sister Fajr can give you the translation
no pressure sis, lol
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh
Baarak’Allaahu feekum for your kind comments.
I must say however, that the translations are far from being perfect and I’ll most likely look back at these in a few years and cringe! But khayran inshaa’Allaah, we should make the most of our time and effort.
Jazaakillaahu khayran sister Ihsaan for posting up the English (great translation mashaa’Allaah).
I had a look through the Diwaan and the arabic to ash-Shaafi’ee’s last words was in there as a pretty lengthy piece. Below is the full length:
إليك إلـه الخلـق أرفــع رغبتي *** و‘ن كنتُ يا ذا المن والجود مجرما
ولما قسـا قلبي وضـاقت مذاهبي *** جعلت الرجـا مني لعفوك سلمــا
تعاظمنـي ذنبـي فلمـا قرنتــه *** بعفوك ربي كان عـفوك أعظمــا
فما زلتَ ذا عفو عن الذنب لم تزل *** تـجـود وتعـفو منة وتكرمـــا
فلولاك لـم يصمـد لإبلـيس عابد *** فكيف وقد أغوى صفيك آدمـــا
فياليت شعــري هل أصير لجنة *** أهنـــا؟ وأمـا للسعير فأندمــا
فلله در العـــارف الـنـدب إنه *** تفيض لفرط الوجد أجفانه دمـــا
يقيـم إذا مـا الليل مد ظلامــه *** على نفسه من شدة الخوف مأتمـا
فصيحا إذا ما كـان في ذكـر ربه *** وفيما سواه في الورى كان أعجمـا
ويذكر أيامـا مضـت من شبابـه *** وما كان فيها بالجهـالة أجرمـــا
فصار قرين الهم طول نهـــاره *** أخا السهد والنجوى إذا الليل أظلمـا
يقول: حبيبي أنـت سؤلي وبغيتي *** كفى بك للراجـيـن سؤلا ومغنمـا
ألـست الذي غذيتني وهــديتني *** ولا زلت منـانـا عليّ ومنعـمــا
عسى من لـه الإحسان يغفر زلتي *** ويستر أوزاري ومـا قـد تقدمــا
تعاظمني ذنبـي فأقبلت خاشعــا *** ولولا الرضـا ما كنت يارب منعمـا
فإن تعف عني تعف عـن متمرد *** ظلوم غشــوم لا يـزايـل مأتمـا
فإن تنتـقـم مني فلست بآيـس *** ولو أدخلوا نفسي بجــرم جهنمـا
فجرمي عظيم من قديم وحــادث *** وعفوك يأتي العبد أعلى وأجسمــا
حوالي َّ فضل الله من كل جانـب *** ونور من الرحمن يفترش السمــا
وفي القلب إشراق المحب بوصله *** إذا قارب البـشرى وجاز إلى الحمى
حوالي إينــاس من الله وحـده *** يطالعني في ظلـمـة القبرأنجمــا
أصون ودادي أن يدنسـه الهوى *** وأحفظ عـهد الـحب أن يتثلمــا
ففي يقظتي شوق وفي غفوتي منى *** تلاحـق خـطوى نـشوة وترنمـا
ومن يعتصم بالله يسلم من الورى *** ومن يرجه هـيهات أن يتندمـــا
Assalaamu alaykum sis,
Jazaak Allaahu khayran. Ma sha Allaah. May Allaah make us like them. Ameen! Much appreciated. Is there any way you could post the arabic with the tashkeel please as I haven quite grasped it yet.
Jazaak Allaahu khayran
Assalaamu alaykum
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaah
Wa iyyaakum
By the way, the above Arabic contains parts that haven’t been translated into the english given, so maybe I can try and translate them and post the whole thing up as a new post inshaa’Allaah (incl. their tashkeel) – but I’m not sure how soon I can get that done, sorry.
As salaamu alikum wa Rahmatullahi wa barkatuhu sis,
It’s been way too long subhanAllah…I hope all is going well with you!
MashAllah beautiful poems and since you’re great at translating …you should anticipate that I’ll get to translate all my favorite poems!
BarakAllahu feeki…May Allah shower his mercy upon you and your entire family sis !
inshAllah talk to you soon
wa salaamu alikum
flag_bearer
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah,
Ok insha Allaah. I’l be checking from time 2 time. Jazaak Allaahu khayr.
To Ihsaan – Jazaak Allaahu khayran 4 the translation.
Assalaamu alaykum
Fulaan, wa iyyaakum
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh Flag bearer!
Subhan’Allaah where have you disappeared to?:-D
Long time sis, I pray you’re doing well and everything’s going ok with you…
And who is better at the job of translating poetry than haamilat al-liwaa herself 🙂 Ahabbakillaah ya ukhtaa
Ameen to the ad3iya, wa laki mithlah wa khayral jazaa’
As salaamu alikum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuhu sis…
subhanAllah…even though I vanished for a while, wallahi I remember you ‘n all the ‘o paltalk crew with the utmost love….May Allah untie me with you in the highest level of jannah sis…ameen
I just re-read what I wrote earlier and boy was I sleepy when I wrote it…lol…allow me to explain…
InshAllah I’ve just officially hailed you my personal translator and I’ll start sendin you all my fave poems inshAllah for you to translate !
BarakAllahu feeki hon.
InshAllah pass me your email so we can catch up !
wa salaamu alikum wa rahmatullah
Masha’allah awesome
Wa `alaykumusalaam wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh
Heh, don’t worry I understood your original comment 🙂 and I repeat, there’s no-one better for the job than yourself ya haamilat al-liwaa… trust me on that ukhti
I sent you an email, inshaa’Allaah come online sometime… I hardly see you anymore!