وَنَفسُكَ فَاِبدَأ بِتَصويرِها

وَنَفسُكَ فَاِبدَأ بِتَصويرِها

بِما أَنتَ مِن خالِدٍ فاعِلُ

بِما أَنتَ مِن خالِدٍ فاعِلُ

And your soul—begin by portraying it

And your soul, so begin to depict it

through the enduring deeds you perform.

With what you are of the eternal doer

وَإِلّا مَضى الجِسمُ مَعَ رَسمِهِ

وَإِلّا مَضى الجِسمُ مَعَ رَسمِهِ

وَلا يَخلُد الزَائِلُ الزَائِلُ

وَلا يَخلُد الزَائِلُ الزَائِلُ

Otherwise, the body passes away with its portrait,

Else the body passes with its form

and the perishable cannot immortalize the perishable.

And the transient does not make the transient eternal