لَولا الرَدى كانَتِ الدُنيا لِمَن سَبَقا

اللَهُ يَبقى وَيَفنى كُلُّ ما خَلَقا

Were it not for death, the world would belong to those who came before.

God abides, while all that He created perishes.

يَهوى الحَياةَ بَنو الدُنيا وَقَد علموا

أَنَّ الحَياةَ عَناءٌ دائِمٌ وَشَقا

The children of this world love life, though they know

that life is unceasing hardship and woe.

ما مَرَّ مِن عُمُرِ الإِنسانِ في حَزَنٍ

أَو في سُرورٍ كَطَيفٍ في الكَرى طَرَقا

Whatever of a human lifetime has passed in sorrow,

or in joy, is like a phantom that visited in sleep.