إِنّي أَرِقتُ وَذِكرُ المَوتِ أَرَّقَني
وَقُلتُ لِلدَمعِ أَسعِدني فَأَسعِدني
I stay awake, death's memory deprives me of sleep
And I say to my tears, "Delight me!" So delight me!
يا مَن يَموتُ فَلَم تُحزِنهُ ميتَتُهُ
وَمَن يَموتُ فَما أَولاهُ بِالحَزَنِ
O he who dies, yet his death does not grieve him,
And he who dies - how little he frets and mourns!
تَبغي النَجاةَ مِنَ الأَجداثِ مُحتَرِساً
وَإِنَّما أَنتَ وَالعِلّاتُ في قَرَنِ
You seek to be saved from misfortunes playing it safe,
Yet you and mishaps are yoked together.
يا صاحِبَ الروحِ ذي الأَنفاسِ في بَدَنِ
بَينَ النَهارِ وَبَينَ اللَيلِ مُرتَهَنِ
O you, the soul that breathes through a body
Held hostage between night and day.
لَقَلَّما يَتَخَطّاكَ اِختِلافُهُما
حَتّى يُفَرِّقَ بَينَ الروحِ وَالبَدَنِ
Rarely do they differ without separating
The soul from the body.
طيبُ الحَياةِ لِمَن خَفَّت مَؤونَتُهُ
وَلَم تَطِب لِذَوي الأَثقالِ وَالمُؤَنِ
Life is sweetest when need is little,
Not sweet to those heavily burdened.
لَم يَبقَ مِمّا مَضى إِلّا تَوَهُّمُهُ
كَأَنَّ مَن قَد مَضى بِالأَمسِ لَم يَكُنِ
Nothing remains of the past but fancy,
As though he who died yesterday did not exist.
وَإِنَّما المَرءُ في الدُنيا بِساعَتِهِ
سائِل بِذالِكَ أَهلَ العِلمِ بِالزَمَنِ
Man's life lies only in the present moment,
That's why I ask the learned about time.
ما أَوضَحَ الأَمرَ لِلمُلقي بِعِبرَتِهِ
بَينَ التَفَكُّرِ وَالتَجريبِ وَالفِطَنِ
How clearly it shows the moral to the wise
Through pondering, experience and wit!
أَلَستَ يا ذا تَرى الدُنيا مُوَلِّيَةً
فَما يَغُرُّكَ فيها مِن هَنٍ وَهَنِ
Don't you see how the world is fickle?
Why are you fooled by its softness and luxury?
لَأَعجَبَنَّ وَأَنّي يَنقَضي عَجَبي
الناسُ في غَفلَةٍ وَالمَوتُ في سَنَنِ
I wonder, wonder till wonder amazes me -
People oblivious while death follows its laws!
وَظاعِنٍ مِن بَياضِ الرَيطِ كُسوَتُهُ
مُطَيَّبٍ لِلمَنايا غَيرِ مُدَّهِنِ
His clothes are white raiment, pleasing to die in
Unointed, unembalmed.
غادَرتُهُ بَعدَ تَشيِيعَيهِ مُنجَدِلاً
في قُربِ دارٍ وَفي بُعدٍ مِنَ الوَطَنِ
I left him there, after his funeral, downcast
In a nearby house, far from his homeland.
لا يَستَطيعُ اِنتِقاصاً في مَحَلَّتِهِ
مِنَ القَبيحِ وَلا يَزدادُ في الحَسَنِ
He cannot decrease the ugliness of his situation
Nor increase its beauty.
الحَمدُ لِلَّهِ شُكراً ما أَرى سَكَناً
يَلوي بِبَحبوحَةِ المَوتى عَلى سَكَنِ
Thanks be to God! I see no restful dwelling
That sways with the rocking of the dead.
ما بالُ قَومٍ وَقَد صَحَّت عُقولُهُمُ
فيما اِدَّعوا يَشتَرونَ الغَيَّ بِالثَمَنِ
What's wrong with people whose minds see clearly,
Yet they buy illusion paying a price?
لِتَجذِبَنّي يَدُ الدُنيا بِقُوَّتِها
إِلى المَنايا وَإِن نازَعتُها رَسِيَ
The world will pull me with its strength
To death, though I resist its rope.
وَأَيُّ يَومٍ لِمَن وافى مَنِيَّتَهُ
يَومٌ تَبَيَّنُ فيهِ صورَةُ الغَبَنِ
What day for him who met his end
Clearly shows the image of loss?
لِلَّهِ دُنيا أُناسٍ دائِنينَ لَها
قَدِ اِرتَعَوا في رِياضِ الغَيِّ وَالفِتَنِ
Some people belong to this world; in debt to it
They pasture in the meadows of sin and strife.
كَسائِماتٍ رَواعٍ تَبتَغي سِمناً
وَحَتفُها لَو دَرَت في ذَلِكَ السِمَنِ
Like cattle fattening up, seeking fat -
If only their fatness could save them!
