They asked a sage: 'Of the many renowned and fruitful trees that God Almighty has created, none are called free except the cypress, which bears no fruit. What is the wisdom in this?'

He said: 'Every tree has a specific fruit that flourishes at a certain time, and sometimes with its absence, it withers. But the cypress has none of this and is always flourishing, and this is the characteristic of free people.'

Do not set your heart on what passes, for the Tigris many times

Will flow through Baghdad after the caliph.

If it is within your power, be generous like a date palm,

And if it is not within your power, be free like a cypress.