Sol 6

  1. Is it a string of verse, son of my affection, or pearls

    strung upon the threads of inquiry?

  2. It says: when the captive wishes to journey

    to the dwelling of perfection, together with perfection,

  3. and seeks to profess what is contained

    in the texts of my Lord’s majestic Book,

  4. and in the tradition of pure Taha,

    transmitted through chains of men,

  5. is there any path besides the proofs

    for one who seeks to reach communion?

  6. Did the best generations, and those who followed them,

    ever pursue hearsay and idle talk?

  7. Tell me: which one among them ever

    cloaked himself in an affiliation or assumed label?

  8. They knew no attachment to a school while at home,

    nor did they carry it with them when they traveled.

  9. They called one another to Islam and faith

    and turned away from wrangling and dispute.

  10. Whoever’s hands fell short of such pursuits

    went to the elders to ask.

  11. Thus he drinks from the spring of the text until

    he says, ‘I am filled by what was related to me.’

  12. No person was then attributed to the one he had asked,

    nor did such a thought occur to them.

  13. If the path of a people cannot accommodate you,

    when they are, beyond dispute, the best generations,

  14. then the whole earth has grown narrow for you,

    and you have countered reality with fancy.

  15. Whoever knows has a counterpart

    among the noble Companions, though they are beyond compare.

  16. And whoever does not know has counterparts

    among the Companions who turned to questions.

  17. They were of two kinds: one group

    excelled and was adorned with distinction;

  18. another had no share of learning

    but had a share in battle.

  19. Both groups followed a path

    and did not profess imitation of men.

  20. None of them was affiliated with Bakr

    or Umar through the passing years.

  21. This learned one relates knowledge to that one,

    while this less learned one asks insistently.

  22. And you, honored scholar, held dear,

    are worthy of aspiring to high things.

  23. So is your father, singular in

    the fine expressions he composes.

  24. So both of you follow every

    sound text, and turn away from every empty thing.

  25. Do not, either of you, fear the multitude,

    for whoever finds the proof has no cause for concern.

  26. And hold those of dignity in esteem

    through the majesty of the Majestic One.

  27. When someone says, ‘God has said,’

    lofty mountains bow their heads.

  28. And when he says, ‘The Messenger says this,’

    the sayings of men fall away.

  29. Whoever finds the truth, and it is indeed true,

    has no reason to cling to fancy.

  30. And whoever seeks argument has taken on

    woes in the hours of dispute.

  31. If a hateful person says without modesty,

    ‘So-and-so knows this matter better than you,’

  32. the matter is plain, so do not answer him;

    ignorance is like an incurable disease.

  33. As for one who denies independent reasoning

    and feels no shame in saying the impossible,

  34. say, ‘May no good come to you! What text

    has come to restrict excellence?’

  35. Has God, by His favor, singled out one

    deemed foremost while excluding a successor?

  36. That is a claim only a dullard would make,

    one who shrank from the clash of battle.

  37. It is a claim from which God preserved noble people

    who clasped the hand of lofty aspiration.

  38. By your life, after the six there are people

    who are champions in the field of debate.

  39. By your life, after the six there is a generation

    too exalted for one who confines excellence.

  40. And you said that in matters of belief,

    imitation, or tying on a halter, is unacceptable.

  41. Those matters fall under a general rule:

    the broad prohibition stated in the discourse.

  42. The report about the prescribed penalties is no sound account;

    rather, count it among rumors and talk.

  43. Some attribute it to al-Basri,

    and Mansur ibn Zadhan goes too far.

  44. Our Lord’s Friday prayer was ordained for ease

    and was not ordained as dependent on a governor.

  45. Remain on the path of truth you choose

    and follow it through the passing years.

Sol 6