Wisdom
O youth! O you who are carried off by the wind,
Translated from Uzbek · Original text
O youth! O you who are carried off by the wind,O you who have not yet tasted the bitter and the sweet!You who say, “I have wings upon my shoulders,”You whose breasts no thorns or blades have pierced!You do not yet know what sorrow is,You do not yet know the taste of loss.You have not yet swallowed a single ember,Fate has provided you with health.That is why, like water and like air,Like the body and the soul within it, you need counsel.Your spirit perhaps has not yet seen dread,Perhaps your only problem is too much sleep.Know that in this world the cunning are many,Their eyes are smiling, their insides full of filth.That is why you need to find a teacher,As long as that teacher is there, calamities will not come.For he will put a shield into your handAnd teach you how to defend yourself.And so you will come out of battles safe,And victories will cast their shade upon your head.For he will put a map into your hand —Where in life there is a cliff, or where a swamp!Making everything known to you, lighting up the road,He will go before you in the darkness like a lamp.Now imagine: the Generous GodShowed you an unexpected grace,Whatever in your life was half became complete,He granted you a teacher, and you found guidance!You saw what kind of person he is, how pure,What compassion he has, and what a heart!Giving you his kindness, seeing you as priceless,He lavished his affection and his love on you.Just as a wolf slips into the sheepfold,So a devil slips into the heart!But that devil never gives away his secret,For in appearance he is a harmless man!He will light the fire of discord off to one side —Inventing and spreading rumors of every kind.And when the fire has swept across an entire city,He will raise the loudest clamor and uproar.Knowing just how green and foolish you are,He will show open hostility to your sincerity:Blinding your eyes with his oily tongue,He will, that is, sling mud at your teacher.First of all he will plant doubt in your heart,He will paint sincerity in a dreadful light.Even with tears, with sighs and moans,He will say a good intention comes from Satan.And you will fall into the trap, so gullible,As if regret were burning you inside!You will say: “Show me the way to the Lord, the Truth,You are a servant of the Truth, O friend of the Merciful!”And he, muddying everything completely,Will fan the fire of discord with the wind.Until, having burned everyone and turned them all to ash,He can laugh freely afterward, rejoicing and thriving.But he does not know, that servant of Satan,That divine justice always stands firm:He will not get far, rejoicing and laughing,The discord will burn him first of all, completely.You, too, will burn your heart in this fire,You, too, will lose a great treasure —That broken heart who was your teacher,Will he ever again be a shade for you?!O little child who still calls bread “nanna,”Alas, you took the puddles for the sea.You became an easy prey for devils,On which hooks were you caught and carried off?!You may not, perhaps, grasp it all at once,What it was they snatched out of your hands!You will see one day: when the body turns to ash,Alas, into what a fire they have thrown you!For this reason, child, always be on your guard,Do not stray and become Satan’s companion.When Iblis lights the fire of discord,Do not become a common brick in his hearth!For this reason, do not rush, do not runTo take just anyone as your guide and teacher.And once you have called someone your teacher, do not turn your faceAnd go running like a dog toward Satan!Akrom MALIK
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