1. The youth passed away, leaving grief for his mother,
Neither absent nor covered in dust.

2. Like a darting colt he went, but when
He left, his traces at my dwelling were dust.

3. We seek refuge with the Creator from nations
Whose final abode is the grave.

4. Needles above their tongues
Carry poison, so their talk is needlepoints.

5. Who is Gabriel when they frighten him?
They have no loyalty or obligation.

6. I came to know them, and found the best of them
Like a flock with no shepherd.

7. Can knowledge protect you from meeting harm
Though you are a learned man of esteem?

8. I gathered papers, paper atop paper,
White, split by the ink of my pen.

9. Your command was carried out with pure silver
Molded, as destiny’s decree was fulfilled.

10. God is Greatest – loyalty belongs to Him
And likewise, seniority holds loyalty.

11. If you weren’t the youngest among the people
Your superiority over them wouldn’t be clear.

12. Illness is chased away by command – the affliction
Is restrained, when patience comes at its descent.

13. Life is unrelenting sickness, it knows no fatigue,
And its wounds make examination woeful.

14. The best and worst of people are equal,
As are lineages and rear ends.

15. I described them, and none issues from the womb
But wild beasts, ancestors to the hyena.

16. Plunging to a valley, opposed to the summit,
Scaling the hills as if they were locusts.

17. Fulfilling from his lofty pulpit
One concerned with truth and clarity.

18. Reciting sermons while not taking heed,
Rather, his belt’s tightness distracts him.

19. I bestowed authority, he fills it with
The Family of Rot, so Esteem pales.

20. Time destroyed the Trusted One, so no
Virtuous man exists, nor does Obligation.