He only said “no”

when professing the shahādah

Had it not been

for the shahādah,

his ‘no’ would

have been “yes”

“Shahādah,” the confessional creed or profession of faith, is the Muslim doctrinal formula: “There is no deity but God and Muḥammad is His messenger.” It is the first of the five fundamental tenets, or pillars, of Islam. Al-Farazdaq's line is described by medieval Arab literary commentators as the best verse ever composed on generosity.

The branches of his palm

have borne fruit,

jujube,

for those who reap

his beneficence

I marvel at a land

whose rocks do not sprout

green leaves

when the rain clouds

of their hands

pour forth

on it

In the medieval Arabic hierarchy of cultural values, hands are compared to rain-bearing clouds, the utmost form of generosity in a desert society.

Were it possible for a people

to sit atop the sun,

for their generosity,

glory and noble descent,

they are the ones

who would do so

You will find him jubilant

when you come to see him

as if you are giving him

what you have come

to ask for