يا عَجَباً لَلناسِ لَو فَكَروا

أَو حاسَبوا أَنفُسَهُم أَبصَروا

How astonishing people are—if only they would reflect,

or take themselves to account, they would see clearly.

وَعَبَروا الدُنيا إِلى غَيرِها

فَإِنَّما الدُنيا لَهُم مَعبَرُ

They would pass beyond this world to another,

for this world is only a crossing-place for them.

وَالخَيرُ ما لَيسَ بِخافٍ هُوَ ال

مَعروفُ وَالشَرُّ هُوَ المُنكَرُ

And good—which is not obscure—is the—

recognized right; and evil is the reprehensible wrong.

وَالمَورِدُ المَوتُ وَما بَعدَهُ ال

حَشرُ فَذاكَ المَورِدُ الأَكبَرُ

The destination is death, and after it the—

Gathering: that is the greater destination.

وَالمَصدَرُ النارُ أَوِ المَصدَرُ ال

جَنَّةُ ما دونَهُما مَصدَرُ

And the place of return is the Fire—or the place of return, the—

Garden; apart from those two, there is no place of return.

لافَخرَ إِلّا فَخرُ أَهلِ التُقى

غَداً إِذا ضَمَّهُمُ المَحشَرُ

There is no glory except the glory of the people of piety,

tomorrow, when the Gathering assembles them.

لَيَعلَمَنَّ الناسُ أَنَّ التُقى

وَالبِرِّ كانا خَيرَ ما يُذخَرُ

People will surely learn that piety

and righteousness were the finest things one could store away.

ما أَحمَقَ الإِنسانَ في فَخرِهِ

وَهوَ غَداً في حُفرَةٍ يُقبَرُ

How foolish man is in his pride,

when tomorrow he will be buried in his pit.

ما بالُ مَن أَوَّلُهُ نُطفَةٌ

وَجيفَةٌ آخِرُهُ يَفخَرُ

What is the matter with one whose beginning was a sperm-drop,

and whose end is a corpse, that he should boast?

أَصبَحَ لا يَملِكُ تَقديمَ ما

يَرجو وَلا تَأخيرَ ما يَحذَرُ

Now he has no power to hasten what—

he hopes for, nor to delay what he fears.

وَأَصبَحَ الأَمرُ إِلى غَيرِهِ

في كُلِّ ما يُقضى وَمايُقدَرُ

And now the matter rests with another,

in everything that other decides and ordains.