Comments on: Gems from the lips of al-Shafi’

By: Sohaib Scotlandi

Sohaib Scotlandi — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:13:40 +0000

Nicely done ya Ahmed!

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 22:38:03 +0000

Check it out, check it out…

Someone speaks non-sense?
Silence is my de-fence
Starts to swear?
I’ll forebear
He’s fire burning in-cense!

alhamdulellah,
Ahmed

By: Jinan

Jinan — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:21:59 +0000

The foolish one speaks to me with all ugliness
And I hate to respond to him

He increases in his foolishness while I increase in my forbearance
Like the ‘oud which intensifies its sweet scent the more it is burnt

–

Is there an english word for ‘oud?

By: Hatem

Hatem — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 04:33:23 +0000

يخاطبني السفيه بكل قبح فأكره أن أكون له مجيباً

يزيد سفاهةً فأزيد حلماً كعود زاده الإحراق طيباً

The foolish addresses me with complete insult, so I dislike to respond to him. He increases his foolishness so I increase in forbearance, just like incense its burning increases its fragrance (scent).

By: Nusaybah

Nusaybah — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 02:10:23 +0000

With obscenity the ignoramus speaks to me

But I do not want to to answer him

I increase in fortitude,

like a Oud which increases in pleasantness as it burns ,

whilst he increases in utter idiocy

By: Hatem

Hatem — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:48:54 +0000

يخاطبني السفيه بكل قبح فأكره أن أكون له مجيباً

يزيد سفاهةً فأزيد حلماً كعود زاده الإحراق طيباً

The ignorant addresses me with complete insult, so I dislike to respond to him. He increases his ignorance so I increase in forbearance, just like incense its burning increases its fragrance (scent).

By: Asad

Asad — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:47:28 +0000

The foolish person addresses me with every foul word,
So I dislike to be one who responds to him,
He increases in foolishness and I increase in forbearance,
Like an incense stick whose burning increases it in fragrance.

(Not word for word, but more along the spirit)

By: zfnd

zfnd — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 23:42:31 +0000

The foolish one addresses me with all ugliness/
So much so, that I would detest to respond to him/
as he increases in his foolishness, I increase in my softness(kindness)/
just like incense; the more it burns the better it becomes/

…man, there’s the translation, then the actual meaning, then the poetry.
‘lost in translation’ is an understatement.

There’s got to be a better way to capture the elegance, mashallah.

By: Mahmoud

Mahmoud — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:32:13 +0000

the fool addresses me with all foulness,
while I detest to be a respondent to him

he increases in foolishness while I increase in forbearance,
as a thin stick where burning increases it in pleasant fragrance

By: Abu Layla

Abu Layla — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:29:04 +0000

The fool directed his words at me in all ugliness and I disliked to be replying.

He intensified in his insolence and I increased in my forbearance.

Like Oud, as burning it, increases it’s fragrance.