A little sheikh from the land of Meknes (Arabic شويخ من أرض مكناس) is a zajal by the Sufi poet Al-Shushtari (1212-1269). The poem is often taken as evidence that Al-Shushtari himself lived in Meknes at some time.[1][2]
The lyrics begin:
"A little shaykh from the land of Meknes
in the middle of the markets singing
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
What do I care, my friend
about the whole creation?
just do good and you'll be saved,
and follow the people of the hidden truth
and don’t say a word, oh my son unless it is sincere.
Take my words and write them down as an amulet from me.
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
This speech is clear and needs no explanation
No one intervene in matters of the other
Understand this advice
Look at how old I am, with my walking stick and my sack
That’s how I lived in Fes
and that’s how I am here
My God I beg you
By your generosity to accept my repentance,
for the sake of the prophet and all honored people you loved.
The accursed one has tempted me,
and I am struggling with him, he filled my heart with scruples of his desires for me.
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
A little shaykh from the land of Meknes
in the middle of the markets singing
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
What do I care, my friend
about the whole creation?
just do good and you'll be saved,
and follow the people of the hidden truth
and don’t say a word, oh my son unless it is sincere.
Take my words and write them down as an amulet from me.
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
I don't intervene in people matters,
and people don't intervene in mine.
^Julia Ashtiany - ʻAbbasid Belles-lettres 1990- Page 261 "Shushtari also wrote many muwashshahat, and he was the first Sufi poet to write the zajal which differs from the muwashshah only ... He must have spent some earlier years in Meknes in Morocco, since one of his best known a^jal begins: A ...
^Lourdes María Alvarez Abū Al-Ḥasan Al-Shushtarī: Songs of Love and Devotion 2009 - Page 16 "some have argued that the poem "Little shaykh from Meknes" indicates that the poet resided for a time in that"
