1. O soul, where is my father and where is my father's father
And his father, count them - you have no father so count

2. Count them, for I have looked and found
No living father between me and your father

3. Do you then hope for safety after them?
Wait, you were guided to the path of al-Matlab

4. All have died, from the fetus to the suckling babe
To the weaned child, to the old gray-haired man

5. How long will I remain playing
While death, when it comes, does not play?