3DEPICSThree Doors Opened Only by the Wise
ثلاثة أبواب لا يفتحها إلا العارف
Know the limits of your knowledge, your tongue and your desires: three short counsels that build a whole person.
By Architect Imad DarouichUpdated 2 min read
This short poem reads the three counsels of Imam Malik as three doors that open only for the wise. The first is to say I do not know when asked about what you do not know, the second to let silence be your longest speech among people, and the third to leave the table while you still desire more, a counsel Imad extends to every appetite in life.
قالوا إن الإمام مالك اختصر الدنيا في ثلاث كلمات.They said Imam Malik
compressed the world into three sentences.
أما أنا…But I saw something else…
كلما قرأت هذه الوصية،Each time I read this counsel,
شعرت أنني أقرأ محضر محاكمة للإنسان.I felt I was reading humanity's trial record.
الباب الأول…The first door…
إذا سُئلت عما لا تعلم، فقل: لا أعلم.If asked what you do not know, say: I do not know.
ليست هزيمةً للعقل،It is not the defeat of the mind,
بل انتصارٌ للحقيقة.It is the triumph of truth.
فأخطر الأخطاء،For the greatest disasters,
بدأت بيقينٍ كاذب.Began with false certainty.
الباب الثاني…The second door…
إذا جلست بين الناس،When you sit among people,
فليكن الصمتُ أكثر كلماتك.Let silence be your longest speech.
فالضجيج يجمع التصفيق،Noise gathers applause,
أما الصمت فيجمع البصيرة.Silence gathers insight.
إن أصابوا كنت معهم،If they are right, you are among them.
وإن أخطؤوا نجوت من خطئهم.If they err, you are spared their mistake.
الباب الثالث…The third door…
لا تقم عن الطعام إلا وأنت تشتهيه.Leave the table while you still desire more.
فالوصية ليست للطعام وحده،The counsel is not about food alone,
بل لكل شهوةٍ في الحياة.It is about every desire in life.
فالذي لا يعرف متى يتوقف،Whoever never knows when to stop,
لن يعرف متى ينجو.Will never know when he is saved.
ثلاث كلمات…Three simple teachings…
لكنها تبني إنسانًا كاملًا.Yet they build a complete human being.
اعرف حدود علمك.Know the limits of your knowledge.
واضبط حدود لسانك.Guard the limits of your tongue.
واضبط حدود رغباتك.Master the limits of your desires.
فالسجن الحقيقي،For the true prison,
ليس جدارًا من حجر،Is not built from stone,
بل رغبةٌ لا تعرف الاكتفاء.But from desire that never learns enough..
بقلم المهندس المعماري عماد درويشBy Architect Imad Darouich · New York
For more on the wisdom of the early masters, read The Epic of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib's Diwan and Artistic Imagery in the Prophetic Hadith, both in the faith and spirit collection.
Written by
بقلم المهندس المعماري عماد درويش
Architect and author based in New York. He writes contemporary epics: long-form books about architects, buildings, cities and faith, in Arabic and English.