أَلَحَّت مُقيماتٌ عَلَينا مُلِحّاتُ

لَيالٍ وَأَيّامٌ بِنا مُستَحَثّاتُ

The nights and days urged us on insistently,

Rushing us from one pleasure of life to another.

نَحِنُّ مِنَ الدُنيا إِلى كُلِّ لَذَّةٍ

وَلَكِنَّ آفاتِ الزَمانِ كَثيراتُ

But the ravages of time are many,

And how many kings built and fortified,

وَكَم مِن مُلوكٍ شَيَّدوا وَتَحَصَّنوا

فَما سَبَقوا الأَيّامَ شَيئاً وَلا فاتوا

Yet outran neither days nor death.

How many people we saw happy,

وَكَم مِن أُناسٍ قَد رَأَينا بِغِبطَةٍ

وَلَكِنَّهُم مِن بَعدِ غِبطَتِهِم ماتوا

Only for them after their joy to die.

The living were heedless, as though

لَقَد أَغفَلَ الأَحياءُ حَتّى كَأَنَّهُم

بِما أَغفَلوا مِن طاعَةِ اللَهِ أَمواتُ

In their heedlessness of obeying God, dead.

Does not the son of Adam wrongly think

أَلا رُبَّما غَرَّ ابنَ آدَمَ أَنَّهُ

لَهُ مُدَّةٌ تَخفى عَلَيهِ وَميقاتُ

He has a term hidden from him and a fate?

And all the sons of this life make excuses,

وَكُلُّ بَني الدُنيا يُعَلِّلُ نَفسَهُ

بِمَرِّ شُهورٍ وَهيَ لِلعُمرِ آفاتُ

With the bitterness of months though they impair life.

O brother, possessions came to ruin

أَخي أَنَّ أَملاكاً تَوافَوا إِلى البِلى

وَكانَت لَهُم في مُدَّةِ العَيشِ آياتُ

And for their owners in life’s span were signs.

Did you not see when coffins were stacked over them

أَلَم تَرَ إِذ رُصَّت عَلَيهِم جَنادِلٌ

لَهُم تَحتَها لُبثٌ طَويلٌ مُقيماتُ

With long sojourning beneath, left to stay?

Leave evil and seek good in its settlement,

دَعِ الشَرَ وَاِبغِ الخَيرَ في مُستَقَرِّهِ

فَلِلخَيرِ عاداتٌ وَلِلشَرِ عاداتُ

For good has habits and for evil habits.

You have no property counted from this world

وَما لَكَ مِن دُنياكَ مالٌ تَعُدُّهُ

عَلى غَيرِ ما تُعيهِ مِنها وَتَقتاتُ

Beyond what you know of it and live by.