1. Time, if it brings joy one day, it will not last,
Its events crack the firm mountains.

2. It brings down the birds unwillingly from their nests
To death and ruins in the valleys.

3. It robs the unwary of their blessings
And brings death to the bold heroes.

4. Who can trust time or hope to live forever through it
After those who passed in ancient nations?

5. No man who found comfort in life
Remained more enduring than Aad and Iram.

6. He desires immortality yet his death is ordained
And no command of the pen can be reversed.

7. Death will surely overtake him
And he who lives long cannot escape old age.

8. Where are the sons of Harb and people I do not sense
Who were close to us among the clan of Hakam?

9. They rode as far as China's borders
To Africa, to eloquent and mute peoples.

10. They perished but their traces on earth remain
Those are their signs among men that have not crumbled.