حَبْلُ الدُّنَى يَا مُبْتَغيهِ رَثُّ

وَالذُّلُّ فِي اطِّلَابِها مُنْبَثُّ

The rope of worldly life, O seeker of it, is rotten

The rope of the world, O seeker of it, is frayed and worn,

And humiliation in seeking it dispersed

And humiliation is widespread in the pursuit of it.

قُلْ لِلذِي أَغْراهُ فيهَا الْحَثُّ

وَنالَ منهُ وَعْثُهَا وَالْجُثُّ

Say to one whom desire for it deceived

Say to the one who is lured by the urgent chase within it,

And gained from it his ruin and defeat

Whose toll has been exacted by its hardships and upheavals,

مُذْ بَانَ عنْهُ رِمْثُهَا وَالْحُثُّ

مَعْ أَنَّهُ يَكْفِيهِ فيها الْحُثُّ

Since his profit from it and his drive dispersed

Since its flotsam and dry chaff have departed from him,

While it would suffice him in it to drive on

Even though the merest crust of bread would have sufficed him in it.

سَمِينُهَا عِنْدَ الإِلَهِ غَثُّ

وَشَهْدُهَا مَا فِيهِ إِلاَّ الْجَُثُّ

Its sleekness with God is rubbish

Its choicest meat is but meager and worthless in the sight of God,

And its honey contains naught but carrion

And its honey contains nothing but dead bees and debris.

وَأَبَوَاهَا ذِلَّةٌ وَخُبْثُ

وَأَخَوَاهَا تَعَبٌ وَبَثُّ

Its parents are disgrace and wickedness

Its parents are degradation and malice,

And its brothers toil and evil

And its brothers are weariness and sorrow.

كَمْ باحِثٍ أَضْنَاهُ فِيهَا الْبَحْثُ

وَرَاغِثٍ عَدَا عَليْهِ الرَّغْثُ

How many a seeker it made stray to seek it

How many a seeker has the search exhausted within it!

And refugees, loss befell them as they sought refuge

And how many a devourer was overtaken by being devoured!

وَفَاضِلٍ أَحْيَى حُلاَهُ الرَّغْثُ

وَلِحُلاَهُ بِالتُّرَابِ ضَغْثُ

And virtuous men, loss ruined their finery

And a man of virtue whose brilliance was worn away by affliction,

For their finery with dust is rubbish

Until his finery became tangled with the dust.

وَهْوَ سَوَاءٌ فِي الثَّرَى وَضِغْثُ

مَنْ لَمْ يَنَلْهَا إِذْ عَلاَهُ اللَّهْثُ

It and dust are equal in the earth as rubbish

And he, beneath the earth, is equal to a mere handful of dry twigs.

He who did not obtain it when desire for it overwhelmed him

Whoever fails to attain it while overwhelmed with panting,

فَرُبَّمَا قَضَى عَلَيْهِ الْجَهْثُ

وَلَيْسَ يَجْدِي فِيهِ بَعْدُ رَمْثُ

Death may befall him

Will likely be destroyed by sudden exhaustion and collapse.

And regret afterward will not avail

And after that, no raft of salvation will be of any use to him,

مَعْ أَنَّ مَا فِيهَا خَلىً وَرِمْثُ

إِنْ نِيلَ مِنْهَا بَعْدَ كَدٍّ نَفْثُ

Although there is in it nothing but emptiness and ruin

Even though all that it holds is but dry grass and decayed wood.

If some breath is attained after much toil

If a mere trifle is attained from it after bitter toil,

عَاجَلَهُ مِنَ الْهُمومِ بَعْثُ

سَيَّانِ فيهَا وَالْمَآلُ فَرْثُ

Cares hastened upon him

A resurgence of anxieties hastens upon him.

Both in it are equally evil and the outcome corruption

All are alike in it, and the ultimate end is just decay and dung:

مَنْ قوتُهُ مَنٌّ بِهَا أَوْ فُثُّ

وَمَنْ لَدَيْهِ نَعَمٌ وَحَرْثُ

Whether his livelihood in it is favor or crumbs

He whose nourishment within it was manna, or he who ate dry crusts;

And whether he has bounty and cultivation

He who possesses grazing herds and tilled lands,

وَمَنْ دَهَاهُ كَسْبُهُ وَالْحَرْثُ

وَمَنْ عَدَا عَلَى يَدَيْهِ الْنَّبْثُ

Or whether his earning and cultivation made him prosperous

And he whose own earnings and tillage brought him ruin;

Or whether the attainment passed through his hands

And he whose hands were overcome by digging in the dirt.

لِأنَّهَا لَيْسَ لَدَيْهَا لُبْثُ

وَلاَ يُطَالُ فِي ذُرَاهَا مُكْثُ

Because it has with it no permanence

Because there is no lingering within its bounds,

And one's stay in its quarters is not prolonged

And no stay is prolonged upon its summits.

فَسَيَرِثُّ شِفُّهَا وَالْكَثُّ

ويُخْتَلَى طُبَّاقُهَا والشَّثُّ

So its lips will wither and its cavities crack

For both its delicate silks and thickest garments will soon wear threadbare,

Its afflictions will change and its inheritance disperse

And its fragrant herbs and bitter bushes alike will be reaped.

وَيَسْتَحِيلُ حَزْنُهَا والوَعْثُ

وَيَسْتَفِيءُ مَا عَلَيْهَا الإِرْثُ

The appointed time will reclaim what befell it

Its rugged terrains and soft sands will pass away,

Falsehood will make public its nakedness

And inheritance will reclaim all that is upon it.

سَوْفَ يُعَمِّمُ عُرَاهَا النُّكْثُ

وَيَنْقَضِي ذُكْرَانُهَا وَالأُنْثُ

And its memory and traces will disappear

The severing of ties will soon encompass all its bonds,

And death comes to all who by it kneel

And its males and females will come to an end.

وَالْمَوْتُ كُلَّ مَنْ بِهَا يَجُثُّ

وَالْمُنْتَقَى مِنْ بَزِّهِمْ يَرِثُّ

While the choice of their garbage inherits it

For death will wholly uproot everyone within it,

Then around his rot carrion-eating insects will gather

And the choicest of their fine linens will turn to rags.

ثُمَّتَ تَعْثُو فِي حُلاَهُ الْعُثُّ

أَيْنَ أبُونَا آدَمُ وَشِئْثُ

Where is our father Adam and his cohorts?

Then the moths will wreak their havoc upon its finery.

And all who came after divine inspiration?

Where is our father Adam, and Seth?

وَكُلُّ مَنْ هُوَ لِوَحْيٍ حِدْثُ

أَيْنَ الأُلَى عَلَى الرَّشَادِ حَثُّوا

Where are those who firmly guided, broke open its mysteries and scattered them

And every prophet to whom revelation was ever spoken?

And explained its difficulties and called for help?

Where are those who persistently urged others toward righteousness,

وَأَظْهَرُوا أَسْرَارَهُ وَبَثُّوا

وَفَسَّرُوا عَوِيصَهُ وَنَثُّوا

They made excuses to the firmly guided and cried out for help

Who revealed its secrets and broadcast them far and wide?

And combined their hostility and cut it off

Who explained its complexities and proclaimed them?

وَعَالَجُوا التَّوْحِيدَ وَاسْتَغَثُّوا

وَأَعْذَرُوا إِلَى الأُلَى أَغَثُّوا

Where are those who clung to the world and became stained by it?

Who plunged into the depths of Monotheism and sought its pure essence,

Rather, they carried them to the place of worms

And warned those who had become corrupt,

وَجَمَّعُوا عُدْوَانَهُمْ وَقَثُّوا

أَيْنَ الأُلَى عَلَى الدُّنَى أَلَثُّوا

Then the dust reclaimed them

And gathered the forces of their enmity and swept them away?

It is the soil as if they became carrion

Where are those who lingered so heavily upon this world?

فَارْتَحَلُوا وَمَا بِهَا أَلَثُّوا

بَلْ حَمَلَتْهُمْ للِمَنُونِ دُلْثُ

So with their rot is their rubbish

They departed, and in the end, they did not truly stay.

And with their pulp their stench

Rather, swift and heavy steps carried them to death,

ثُمَّ اسْتَرَدَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ الْجِنْثُ

وَهْوَ التُّراَبُ كَنَّهُمْ فَرَثُّوا

And the resurrection will gather all together

Then the root of their origin pulled them back to itself.

While influence will not avail there

It is the dust that shrouded them, and so they decayed,

فَلِحُلاَهُ بِحُلاَهُمْ غَلْثُ

وَلَهُ باِلْفُرُوثُ مِنْهُمْ غَبْثُ

Nor will plunder be gathered there

Until the adornment of the earth became inextricably mixed with theirs.

And there will be hardship there and flowing pus

And it mingled thoroughly with their decaying remains.

وَسَيَجْمَعُ الَْجَمِيعَ الْبَعْثُ

وَلَيْسَ يَنْفَعُ هُنَاكَ الْمَلْثُ

There yearning and regret will gush forth

And the Day of Resurrection will gather them all together,

Oh would that I knew of my disheveled sins

And no lingering or delay will be of any use there.

وَلَيْسَ يَجْمَعُ هُنَاكَ نَجْثُ

وَلِلشَّدَائِدِ هُنَاكَ كَرْثُ

And the disgraceful acts I committed

And no plotting or scheming will gather allies on that Day,

While my deeds and words are despicable rubbish

Where the severe hardships will cause an agonizing distress,

يَهْمِي هُنَاكَ وَبْلُهَا وَالدَّثُّ

يَا لَيْتَ شِعْرِي وَذُنُوبِي شُعْثُ

Is there any escape for me from the heat of hell

And their heavy downpours and steady rains of sorrow will pour down.

And from the momentousness of what my skin will bear

Oh, I wish I knew! While my sins are countless and disheveled,

وَمَا اقْتَرَفْتُ مِنْ خَطَايَا غُبْثُ

وَالْفِعْلُ وَالْقَوْلُ ذَمِيمٌ غَثُّ

And from the sources of salvation I am cut off

And the transgressions I have committed are a foul mixture,

By the acts of those destined for ruin I am smeared

And my deeds and words are blameworthy and meager:

أَلِيَ مِنْ حَرِّ السَّعِيرِ وَطْثُ

وَمِنْ عَظِيمِ مَا حَمَلَتْ جَأْثُ

Or am I pleased and pardoned thereby?

Is there for me a severe trampling from the heat of the Blaze?

I will then have a portion in the Gardens

And a crushing terror from the magnitude of what I have borne?

وَعَنْ مَوَارِدِ النَّجَاةِ رَبْثُ

وَبِعِصِيِّ الْهَالِكِينَ وَلْثُ

And in the meadows of those made joyful a place to alight

And a holding back from the watering places of salvation?

And of the fruits of the immortals a cluster

And a violent striking with the rods of the doomed?

أَمْ بِالرِّضَى وَالْعَفْوِ قَدْ أُمَثُّ

فَلِي إِذَنْ إِلَى الْجِنَانِ قَلْثُ

And with kerchiefs of bliss I will be adorned

Or will I be touched by divine pleasure and forgiveness?

Your mercy has delivered me from confusion

Then I would have a swift gathering into the Gardens,

وَفِي حِيَاضِ الْمُبْهَجِينَ مَرْثُ

وَمِنْ قُطُوفِ الْخَالِدِينَ دَأْثُ

While I was wandering in the wastes of error

And a joyous immersion in the basins of the delighted,

And the correcting measure of my guidance is not what dryness corrupted

And an abundant feasting from the hanging fruits of the eternal ones,

وَبِمَنَادِيلِ النَّعِيمِ مَثُّ

رُحْمَاكَ قَدْ أجْنَى عَلَيَّ الرَّفْثُ

So to integrity I cling though corrupted

And a gentle wiping with the towels of bliss.

If You take me to account then my work is plenty

Your mercy! For my foul speech and sins have committed crimes against me,

وَلِي بِأَضْغَاثِ الضَّلاَلِ ضَبْثُ

وَزَنْدُ رُشْدِي مَا سَلاَهُ عَلْثُ

And if in Your pleasure there is escape for me

And I hold a tight grasp on the confused illusions of misguidance,

Then pardon, O Lord, with You is the most bountiful honor

And the fire-stick of my guidance has failed to strike a flame,

فَلِلسَّدَادِ بِالْفَسَادِ عَلْثُ

فَإِنْ تُؤَاخِذْنِي فَصُنْعِي كَثُّ

Far be it from You to deny bounty to any

For my righteousness is entirely corrupted by my ruin.

So if You take me to task, my deeds are coarse and laden with fault,

وَإِنْ يَكُنْ لِي فِي رِضَاكَ مَغْثُ

فَالْعَفْوُ يَا رَبِّ لَدَيْكَ جِنْثُ

But if there is for me an immersion in Your profound pleasure,

Then forgiveness, O Lord, is Your very essence and root,

حَاشَاكَ أَنْ يُمْنَعَ مِنْهُ حِنْثُ

Far be it from You that a broken sinner be denied it.