1. I asked men about Ma'add and his tribe,
And about Saba - what he seized and laid waste.

2. They said: Those are the days whose course
Did not spare a king to be ransomed or a devotee to be warned.

3. I see the heavens constantly revolving round creation,
With news about us kept secret and concealed.

4. So do not seek the world even if you are a youth,
For I have found solace in detachment from it.

5. The vicissitudes of time are but advancing troops
Spread out or armies on the march.