1. مَن عاشَ في الأرضِ لا يخلو من الكَمَدِ

    على أبٍ أو أخٍ قد مات أو وَلدِ

    Whoever lives on earth is never free of grief

    For a father or brother who has died, or a child.

  2. لا بدَّ للحيِّ من حُزنٍ على أحَدٍ

    حتى يَموتَ فلا يبكي على أحَدِ

    The living must feel sorrow for someone,

    Until they die, and so weep for no one.

  3. وكلُّ حيٍّ لهُ يومٌ يموتُ بهِ

    فيفرُغُ العُمرُ مهما زادَ في المُدَدِ

    And every living being has a day on which it dies,

    And life runs out, however long its span.

  4. وأهوَنُ الموتِ ما وافى على صِغَرٍ

    فإنهُ راحةٌ للرُّوحِ والجَسَدِ

    And the gentlest death is that which comes in childhood,

    For it is rest for the soul and body.

  5. لا بُدَّ للطُرْقِ من زادٍ يُعَدُّ سِوَى

    طُرْقِ الصِّغارِ إلى مُستَوطَنِ الأبَدِ

    All roads require provisions to be prepared, except

    The children's roads to the abode of eternity.

  6. يكونُ من عاشَ مُرتاحاً بلا تَعَبٍ

    منهمْ ومن ماتَ مسروراً بلا نَكَدِ

    At ease, without toil, is whoever lives

    Among them; and whoever dies is happy, without distress.

  7. ليست من الموتِ تَخلو لحظةٌ فنَرى

    بهِ الحزانَى كرملِ البحر في العَدَدِ

    Not a moment is free of death, so we see

    Those it saddens as numerous as the sands of the sea.

  8. وكُلَّ يومٍ دموعٌ منهُ لو جُمِعَتْ

    كانت غديراً كثيرَ الموجِ والزَّبدِ

    And every day, the tears it causes, if gathered,

    Would form a pool full of waves and foam.

  9. كم حسرَةٍ نَزَلَت في القبرِ مع رجلٍ

    قد ماتَ منها جريحَ القلبِ والكَبِدِ

    How many a heartache has descended to the grave with a man

    Who died of it, wounded in heart and liver.

  10. وكم دموعٍ جَرَت من عين مُنتَحِبٍ

    لم تَستَفِدْ عينُهُ منها سِوَى الرَّمدِ

    And how many tears have flowed from a sobbing mourner's eye,

    Yet his eye gained nothing from them but inflammation.

  11. إذا ابتُلِيتَ بأمرٍ لا تُطيقُ لهُ

    دفعاً فبالصَّبرِ عالجهُ ولا تَزِدِ

    If you are afflicted by something you cannot

    Ward off, treat it with patience, and do no more.

  12. ولو بذلتَ كنوزَ الأرضِ قاطبةً

    تبغي علاجاً بغير الصَّبرِ لم تَجِدِ

    And even if you spent all the treasures of the earth,

    Seeking a remedy other than patience, you would find none.