Always Rebuking, Always Telling-off
It’s been said:
إِذا كُنتَ في كُلِّ الذُنوبِ مُعاتِباً
صَديقَكَ لَم تَلقَ الَّذي لا تُعاتِبُه
فَعِش واحِداً أَو صِل أَخاكَ فَإِنَّهُ
مُفارِقُ ذَنبٍ مَرَّةً وَمُجانِبُه
If you keep laying blame on your friend for every sin [you see],
You’ll never find that one person that will be blame-free.
So either live all alone or keep your brother, for he
Into sins will stray at times, and at times he’ll from them flee.
¹Attributed to the poet Bash`shār ibn Burd; quoted by the shaikh, Dr. Muḥammad ibn Ghālib Al-ʿUmarī. x.com/m_g_alomari. 24 Jul 24. (Tr.)