by Raja Ali Haji (1808-1873)
English translation © Bin Gregory Productions
This is the gurindam of the sixth issue:
Seek you a companion
Who can be for you a medicine.
Seek you a guru
Who can teach every enemy to you.
Seek you a wife
Who can devote to you her life.
Seek you a friend.
Choose one loyal to the end.
Seek you a servant
Whose manners are decent.
Ini gurindam pasal yang keenam:
Cahari olehmu akan sahabat,
yang boleh dijadikan obat.
Cahari olehmu akan guru,
yang boleh tahukan tiap seteru.
Cahari olehmu akan isteri,
yang boleh menyerahkan diri.
Cahari olehmu akan kawan,
pilih segala orang yang setiawan.
Cahari olehmu akan abdi,
yang ada baik sedikit budi.
Gurindam Dua Belas is a 19th century Malay poem written in rhyming couplets with free meter. It has 12 parts, each dealing with a different pasal, or issue. It was composed by Raja Ali Haji (1808-1873), an intellectual of the Riau-Lingga court best known for his history Tuhfat al-Nafis (the Precious Gift). I’ll be posting my translations pasal by pasal.
Asalamualaikum, wr, wb.
Dear Mr Gregory,
My name is Angga, and Im a university student in East Java, Indonesia. I have planing to create my graduate proposal using Gurindam as the analysis object. But, I saw your Gurindam transleted stop in article number six. as an english student I need the following Gurindam article in English. Could you help me for that?
Thanks
Wasalam,
wa alaykum salam, I will email you shortly.
Assalamualaikum
I am Hjh Haliza bt Ithnin from Yayasan Al Jenderami, Selangor. I would like to seek your permission in reading out Gurindam 12 for a Muslimat event here.
Wa alaykum salam. Thank you for your interest. You are more than welcome to do so. May I ask what is the event?
Assalamualaikum Tuan.
Do you have Fasal 7 onwards?
wasalam, no I still haven’t gotten around to it. Maybe one day.