A travel enthusiast who toured most of the Arab world in search of religious and linguistic knowledge including Gaza, Cairo, Mecca, Madina, Baghdad and others. Mohammad Bin Idrees Al Shafei is a prominent Arab theologian, writer and scholar (767–820). To this day, he continues to inspire many in the world.
You can listen to Shafei's poem sharing how he understands life, in Ahmad Towaiq voice on O's podcast
A summary of the poem
In his very popular though short poem, is infused Al Shafei wise words, accumulated over time, from his travels, experiences and interactions. His acute consciousness of the world in these words is infectious. Here is a rough translation of the poem:
If you long to live in peace
And have a good discourse in life away from pain
Never speak ill of others
For others have mouths that can speak ill of you too!
And if you see something wrong with somebody
Look the other way and remember that people have eyes that see your wrongs too!
Treat people with kindness and forgive their mistakes
You can still engage in life but do it with compassion and consideration