أَلا يا نَفسُ ما أَرجو بِدارِ

أَرى مَن حَلَّها قَلِقَ القَرارِ

Ah, my soul, what can I hope for in an abode

when I see all who dwell there restless, unable to settle?

بِدارِ إِنَّما اللَذّاتُ فيها

مُعَلَّقَةٌ بِأَيّامٍ قِصارِ

In an abode whose pleasures are only

hung upon days that are brief.

نَرى الأَموالَ أَرباباً عَلَينا

وَما هِيَ بَينَنا إِلّا عِوارِ

We see riches as lords set over us,

though among us they are only things on loan.

كَأَنّي قَد أَخَذتُ مِنَ المَنايا

أَماناً في رَواحي وَاِبتِكاري

As though I had received from Death itself

a pledge of safety whenever I set out, evening or dawn.

إِذا ما المَرءُ لَم يَقنَع بِعَيشٍ

تَقَنَّعَ بِالمَذَلَّةِ وَالصِغارِ

If a person is not content with a livelihood,

then cloak yourself in humiliation and abasement.