مَنونَ رِجالٌ خَبِّرونا عَنِ البِلى

وَعادوا إِلَينا بَعدَ رَيبِ مَنونِ

Men traveled and brought us tidings of those gone

Only to return after delay and uncertainty

بَنونَ كَآباءٍ وَكَم بَرَّحَ الرَدى

بِضَبٍّ عَلى عِلّاتِهِ وَبِنونِ

They perished like forefathers, how many has time wasted away

With staves on their shoulders and sons in tow

دَفَنّاهُمُ في الأَرضِ دَفنَ تَيَقُّنٍ

وَلا عَلِمَ بِالأَرواحِ غَيرَ ظُنونِ

We buried them in earth with certainty of their end

Yet no soul knows what comes next except conjectures

وَرَومُ الفَتى ما قَد طَوى اللَهُ عِلمَهُ

يُعَدُّ جُنوناً أَو شَبيهَ جُنونِ

A young man's attempt to unravel what Allah has concealed

Would be deemed insanity or near insanity