“Utenzi wa Mwanakupona” is a Swahili phrase. “Utenzi” means “poem” or “epic” and “Mwanakupona” is a name. Therefore, the phrase translates to “The Poem (or Epic) of Mwanakupona.”
Mwanakupona is a famous historical figure in Swahili literature, known for her poetic contributions. She wrote advice to her daughter, Mwanaasha, in the form of a long poem, providing guidance on how to lead a good life. This poem has become an important piece of Swahili literature and cultural heritage.
Stanza 1:
My precious daughter,
Jewel of the arts,
Ignore the haters,
And focus on your goal.
Stanza 2:
Illness has taken hold of me,
For an entire year,
I have not been able to speak,
A single word to you.
Stanza 3:
I have sat down with pen and paper,
To write a story,
That I have wanted to tell you,
From the bottom of my heart.
Stanza 4:
If you are ready to listen,
Begin by saying Bismillah,
And pray to the Prophet,
And his companions.
Stanza 5:
If you have declared,
The oneness of God Almighty,
Then let us ask for rewards,
May God grant us success.
Stanza 6:
Human beings are nothing,
And the world does not belong to us,
Not even one person,
Will remain.
Stanza 7:
My child, accept my advice,
And my consent,
May God protect you,
And keep you safe from harm.
Stanza 8:
I want to give you a charm,
To tie it with a thread,
And give it to you with love,
So that you can look at it.
Stanza 9:
I will weave a bracelet for you,
Of pearls and coral,
And put it on your neck,
So that it shines.
Stanza 10:
I want to give you a necklace,
That is beautiful and not broken,
Wear it around your neck,
And you will see its benefits.
Stanza 11:
If you follow my advice,
You will not be troubled,
You will cross the world,
And you will reach paradise.
Stanza 12:
First, hold on to your religion,
Do not neglect your obligations,
And try to do the Sunnah if possible.
Stanza 13:
Second, be polite,
And have a tongue that brings rewards,
Be a beloved person,
Everywhere you go.
Stanza 14:
Third, be honest,
Do not lie,
Avoid the one who rejects the truth.
Stanza 15:
Also, my son, be humble,
In front of the elders,
When you see their scent somewhere,
Wipe your hands on them.
Stanza 16:
When their scent reaches you,
Be happy with your heart,
Then let them go ahead of you,
When they go on their way.
Stanza 17:
Make yourself a pleasure,
With words that do not hurt,
And do not argue with people,
So that they do not hate you.
Stanza 18:
Speak to them with humor,
With words that bring joy,
If it is words of hatred,
It is better to ignore them.
Stanza 19:
Do not think of things you cannot see,
And that people are whispering about you,
I am warning you against this.
Stanza 20:
Do not associate with slaves,
For the sake of service,
They will attract you to desire,
There is no choice but to avoid them.
Stanza 21:
Associate with fools,
Who cannot compose
People who do not wander,
And do not come close to you.
Stanza 22:
Mother, listen to my words,
A person is five satisfactions,
Then he will find peace,
Of the hereafter and the world.
Stanza 23:
The first is God and His Messenger,
Your father and mother,
And the fifth is your husband,
Who has been repeated a lot.
Stanza 24:
And you, love your husband,
All the days you live with him,
The day you are called,
May he be pleased with you.
Stanza 25:
And if he dies before you,
Make his satisfaction alive,
And walk to glorify him,
Then you will be able to find the way.
Stanza 26:
On the Day of Resurrection,
The judgment will be of your husband,
You will be asked what he will do,
That is what you will be treated.
Stanza 27:
If he loves, you will go to heaven,
You will go to paradise,
If he speaks, you will go to hell,
You will be put in a fire without a owl.
Stanza 28:
Sit with him with manners,
Do not make him angry,
If he speaks, do not answer him,
Try to be silent.
Stanza 29:
Go with him in faith,
Whatever he wants, I will not refuse you,
You too, do not argue,
Quarreling hurts.
Stanza 30:
When you leave, say goodbye to him,
When you return, approach him,
And make him a place to breathe.
Stanza 31:
When you sleep, do not disturb him,
Stir him up and caress him,
And let there be no lack of wind,
Someone to fan him.
Stanza 32:
When you dress, do not remove it,
Nor shout,
Sit there, do not smell,
Chamka to make him happy.
Stanza 33:
Chamka do not disturb him,
Write him food,
And undress him,
To finish and marry him.
Stanza 34:
Cut his hair, polish it,
Give him respect,
And fumigate him with incense,
Bukuata of ashia.
Stanza 35:
Treat him like a child,
Who does not know how to speak,
Look very carefully,
What comes in and out.
Stanza 36:
Foolish him like a fool,
Do not disobey his order,
He will bring evil,
God will repay you.
Stanza 37:
My daughter, do not be a hand,
Do as you see,
To give and wash the toilet,
Do not despise in the heart.
Stanza 38:
And kowa and sing it,
And tie your hair,
And make a head covering,
And put the bed.
Stanza 39:
And you decorate the clothes,
To sit like a bride,
Put your feet in gas,
And bangles in your hands.
Stanza 40:
And the bracelet and the button,
Do not remove from the neck,
Do not put too much on the body,
With perfumes and daiia.
Stanza 41:
The ring is not found inside,
Hina is not found behind,
Do not remove the cloth from your face,
And do not remove the food from you.
Stanza 42:
Your house is clean,
Honor your husband,
When you meet, greet him,
And do not praise him.
Stanza 43:
Be as he likes,
And you follow that,
What he loves,
Do not be one to leave him.
Stanza 44:
And if you want to go out,
Ask for permission first,
When you are angry,
Come back and stay.
Stanza 45:
Follow his permission,
Let him be satisfied with certainty,
And do not live inside,
After nine o’clock.
Stanza 46:
And do not speak inside,
Do not open the curtain,
Look down,
And your face should be ashamed.
Stanza 47:
Return quickly to your home,
Stay with your husband,
Make the beds,
So that you can sleep on them.
Stanza 48:
Honor your husband,
Let his qualities shine,
And do not force him,
Something he cannot give.
Stanza 49:
Receive what he gives you,
And your heart rejoices,
What he could not do,
You do not need to tell him.
Stanza 50:
When you see his face,
Open your teeth and smile,
Listen to what he tells you,
So as not to disobey Him.
Stanza 51:
Mother, do not let your tongue go,
I told you about your illness,
I have been married for ten years,
We do not fight for a day.
Stanza 52:
Your father married me,
With joy and sadness,
Let us not quarrel,
All the days we live together.
Stanza 53:
We do not fight for a day,
He cannot get my ovulation,
And I cannot get his,
Until he is called.
Stanza 54:
When he fulfilled his obligations,
He repeated his satisfaction to me,
He thanked and was satisfied,
My heart is full.
Stanza 55:
Since then until today,
I am not sad,
When I remember my husband,
And the abundance of habits.
Stanza 56:
When people fight,
They are never remembered,
For those who compete,
They always cry.
Stanza 57:
The anger of the rain,
God, God, listen,
And love your siblings and relatives,
I beg you.
Stanza 58:
When you meet a friend,
Who loves you,
When they tell you to come closer,
Touch to be close.
Stanza 59:
And those who cook food,
If you are cooked by you, do not hesitate,
Do not have time to rest,
Go back.
Stanza 60:
And do not be proud,
Do not be proud at all,
Do not make it unacceptable,
The rope is sadness.
Stanza 61:
All the believers,
Be with them.
I do not like the lazy ones,
So avoid them.
Stanza 62:
I do not like the beautiful ones,
And the wealthy ones,
To look down on the poor,
And to belittle their status.
Stanza 63:
Love those who love you,
And follow those who guide you.
Do good deeds,
And avoid evil.
Stanza 64:
If someone needs your help,
Do not ignore them,
Even if you are busy.
Stanza 65:
Mother, listen to these words,
And do not disregard them.
You will see the benefits
In this world and the hereafter.
Stanza 66:
This is the end of my advice,
To my daughter.
Now I will pray to God,
To accept my supplication.
Stanza 67:
Everything I have said,
Is from a human being,
And God is the One who can,
Destroy and rebuild.
Stanza 68:
I ask You, O God,
To help me,
In what I have said,
And what I have not said.
Stanza 69:
Accept all my supplications,
O Lord,
And grant me what I have asked for.
Stanza 70:
Bless my children,
And my dear sister,
Make them good people,
And give them success.
Stanza 71:
O Lord, bless my relatives,
And the children of my relatives,
Let them live in this world,
With beauty and good character.
Stanza 72:
And bless all Muslims,
O my God,
And fulfill their wishes,
And make their hearts happy.
Stanza 73:
O God, my children are a trust
From You,
So raise them well,
And do not let me see them in trouble.
Stanza 74:
I have entrusted them to You in this world,
So raise them in the hereafter,
And make me meet them in front of the Prophet.
Stanza 75:
Look after them with mercy,
And guide them on the right path,
And keep them away from the temptations
Of this world and the hereafter.
Stanza 76:
I will never stop asking You,
And I will never give up hope,
O You who relieve the suffering,
Please relieve my pain.
Stanza 77:
I do not need anything,
But I am waiting for a child,
For the sake of relief,
And health and well-being.
Stanza 78:
Remove the bad things
That have entered me with force,
My sins and evil deeds,
O Lord, forgive me.
Stanza 79:
These things are heavy for us,
But they are easy for You,
So remove them from my heart.
Stanza 80:
I ask You, O Kind One,
To remove my fear,
On the Day of Arafah,
And the Day of Sacrifice.
Stanza 81:
Forgive me, O Lord,
And shower me with your mercy.
Stanza 82:
O God, O God,
O Lord, O Lord,
O God, the desired,
Save me from the fire.
Stanza 83:
I beg you, O my Lord,
For good deeds,
Thirty-six,
Thirty-seven,
And a hundred in my heart.
Stanza 84:
Grant me teachers
Who know and understand,
This prayer of Islam
Is answered whenever it is asked.
Stanza 85:
I am weak and weak,
With many obligations,
I beg you to ease my burden,
O Lord, make it easy for me.
Stanza 86:
I beg you to help me
With things I cannot do,
And guide me to all goodness,
And remove evil.
Stanza 87:
O Lord, complete for me
That which I cannot do,
And I cannot even think
That it will be difficult.
Stanza 88:
O Lord, make me happy,
And give me good things,
And remove evil from me,
And let us not meet again.
Stanza 89:
Keep me in this world
Among the righteous,
And if I die, let me go to heaven,
The abode of the protected.
Stanza 90:
Teach me to compose this poem
With your power and mercy,
With your judgment, O Dayyan,
And your decrees, O Jalia.
Stanza 91:
Teach me to compose this poem
With a pure heart,
Read Islam,
And follow the path.
Stanza 92:
The reason for composing this poem
Is not a poem or a goal,
I have a young child,
And I want to advise him.
Stanza 93:
I want to give him
The promise to follow Allah,
Also, his merciful wives.
Stanza 94:
O women, be free,
Because you know,
Do not be ashamed of the blame,
In front of the Exalted Lord.
Stanza 95:
O women, be free,
And obey your husbands,
So that you do not be punished
In the Hereafter and in the world.
Stanza 96:
One who obeys Allah
Will have honor and beauty,
Wherever he goes,
He walks his own way.
Stanza 97:
The one who composes this poem
Is a stranger with longing,
And for the generosity of faith,
O Lord, forgive him.
Stanza 98:
Know that this poem
Is from a hopeful person,
Mwana Kupona Mshamu,
Where he was born.
Stanza 99:
Its date, in fact,
Is one thousand five hundred and seventy,
All of these are Hijri.
Stanza 100:
And the number of Baitizes
Is one hundred and sixty,
And two more
Are extra.
Stanza 101:
May God help us
With the blessings of the Prophet,
And his companions together,
Who were defending the religion.
Stanza 102:
I hope in the end
For our Prophet’s mission,
Ali his family and grandchildren,
Be with us all too.
