Offer me your advice when I am alone, and spare…
Quote
Offer me your advice when I am alone, and spare me advice before a crowd.
Arabic original
تعمدني بنصحك في انفرادي، وجنبني النصيحة في الجماعة.
What it means
Advice is more welcome when it respects privacy and dignity. Public correction can turn into humiliation. The verse suggests helping someone in a way that leaves room for listening without embarrassment.
The story behind this quote
These verses on giving advice are traditionally attributed to al-Shafi‘i. The poem then compares public advice to reproach; the attribution follows the transmitted collection.
The poem addresses the adviser and asks for care in choosing the setting. It distinguishes the content of advice from the manner in which it is delivered. This distinction explains how a useful intention may lose its effect when someone feels exposed before a group.
The linked transcription has spelling variants; the Arabic original keeps the wording already published on Quotesay.
The source
تعمدني بنصحك في انفرادي, مطلع قصيدة منسوبة إليه
The text appears in the indicated source. A traditional attribution remains distinct from proof of authorship: see the context.
More quotes by Al-Shafi‘i
Let the days do as they will, and keep your soul at ease when fate decides.
Staying in one place brings no ease to a thoughtful, cultivated person: leave home and travel.