المَرءُ في تَأخيرِ مُدَّتِهِ

كَالثَوبِ يَخلُقُ بَعدَ جِدَّتِهِ

A man's procrastination

Is like a garment that wears out after repair

مَن ماتَ حالَ ذَوّ مَوَدَّتهِ

عَنهُ وَمالوا عَن مَوَدَّتِهِ

When one who was dear passes away

People abandon their love for him

وَحَياتُهُ نَفسٌ يُعَدُّ لَهُ

وَوَفاتُهُ اِستِكمالُ عِدَّتِهِ

While alive he is a soul awaiting

And his death completes his fate

وَمَصيرُهُ مِن بَعدِ مِرَّتِهِ

بِالناسِ ظُلمَةُ بَيتِ وَحدَتِهِ

After his time has passed

People see his home as a place of loneliness

عَجَباً لِمُنتَبِهٍ يُضَيِّعُ ما

يَحتاجُهُ في يَومِ رَقدَتِهِ

How strange is one who wastes

What he will need on his day of rest

أَزِفَ الرَحيلُ وَنَحنُ في لَعِبٍ

ما نَستَعِدُّ لَهُ بِعُدَّتِهِ

The time to depart is near while we play

Not preparing for it at all

وَلَقَلَّما تُبقي الخُطوبُ عَلى

أَشَرِ الشَبابِ وَحَرِّ وَقدَتِهِ

Rarely do disasters spare

The most wretched of youth with burning embers