Let days go forth

Let days go forth

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 lessened 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 decree is constricted.

 

Let days be the ones that betray you at all times,

For no cure can avail a person of death

Al-Shafi'i