Let Days Go Forth, by al-Shafi’i

Let days go forth and do as they please And remain firm when settled is the decree

Don’t grieve over the tragedies of night For the tragedies 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 flaws become too much in front of the people

And you wish that they were to be concealed,

Then know that kindness covers all flaws

For how many flaws are kept hidden by kindness!

And do not ever show humiliation to enemies,

For the enemies’ gloating is an adversity

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 your delay

And it cannot be increased due to your haste

No sadness lasts forever, nor any felicity

And no state of poverty remains, nor any luxury

If you possess, in your heart, contentment

Then you and those who possess the world are equivalent

And if death descends upon one’s horizon,

No earth can offer him protection, nor any sky

Indeed, the earth of God 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.