1. ما نَحنُ إِلّا لِلفَناءِ

    وَإِن طَمِعنا في البقاء

    We are destined only to perish,

    Though we hope to endure.

  2. نُعطى وَيسلبُنا الّذي

    أَعطى التمتّعَ بالعطاء

    We are given, and the giver takes away

    Our enjoyment of the gift.

  3. وَالموتُ داءٌ ما لَهُ

    عِندَ المُداوي مِن دواء

    And death is an illness with no

    Remedy to be found with the healer.

  4. وَالناسُ فينا كلُّهم

    ما بينَ يَأسٍ أو رجاء

    And all people among us

    Are somewhere between despair and hope.

  5. أَينَ الّذين سَقَتْهُمُ ال

    أَيّامُ كاساتِ الرّخاء

    Where are those to whom the

    Days gave cups of ease,

  6. وَتَملّكُوا رِبَقَ الورى

    وعَلَوْا على قممَ العَلاء

    And who held humankind's halters,

    And rose above the pinnacles of glory?

  7. وَتَرى بعقْوةِ دارِهم

    مَجثى الحميَّةِ والإباء

    And you see around their dwelling

    The kneeling-place of proud zeal and defiance;

  8. وَالساحِبونَ على قِنا

    نِ المُلكِ هُدَّابَ المُلاء

    And those who trailed upon the heights

    Of kingship the fringes of their cloaks;

  9. وَالمُرتَوونَ مِنَ النَّعيمِ

    كما تَمَنَّوْا والثّراء

    And those who drank their fill of bliss,

    As they wished, and of wealth;

  10. وَالسائرونُ وَحَولهم

    أُسدُ الشّرى تحت اللواء

    And those who marched, encircled by

    The lions of al-Sharā beneath the banner;

  11. وَالهاجِمونَ عَلى الرّدى

    وَاليومُ يجرى بالدّماء

    And those who charged into death,

    While the day streamed with blood;

  12. لَم يَقنَعوا في مَغْرَمٍ

    سيقوا إِلَيهِ باللّقاء

    In a costly ordeal, they were not content

    With merely confronting it when driven there.

  13. مِن كُلِّ مَملوءِ الأسر

    رَةِ والجبين من الحَياء

    Each with the lines of his face

    And his brow filled with modesty;

  14. تجري يداهُ بِكُلِّ ما

    يَهوى المؤمّلُ من سخاء

    His hands flowed with all that

    The hopeful seeker desired of bounty.

  15. وَتراهُ كَالصَّقرِ الَّذِي

    لَمحَ القنيصةَ مِن علاء

    And you see him like the falcon that

    Spied its quarry from on high.

  16. ما ضَلَّ قطُّ وإنْ هُمُ

    غَدَروا بِهِ طُرقَ الوفاء

    He never strayed—even if they

    Betrayed him—from the paths of loyalty.

  17. وَرُموا إِلى ظُلَمِ الصَّفا

    ئحِ في صباحٍ أو مساء

    And they were cast into the darkness beneath stone

    Slabs, one morning or evening.

  18. دَخَلوا وَلَكِنْ في الّذي

    لا يَرتَضونَ مِنَ الخلاء

    They entered, but into what

    They would not choose: empty solitude.

  19. وَمَتى دَعَوتهُمُ فهمْ

    صُمُّ المَسامعِ مِن دُعاء

    And whenever you call them, they are

    Deaf in their hearing to any call.

  20. وبَغَوْا نجاءً حين سُد

    دَتْ دونهم طُرُقُ النَّجاء

    And they sought escape, when

    The paths of escape were barred to them.

  21. وَنأَوْا كما اِقتَرحَ الحِما

    مُ عن التنعّمِ والشّقاء

    And they went far away, as death willed,

    From pleasure and from suffering.

  22. وَتَراهُمُ في ضَيّقِ ال

    أَقطارِ من ذاك الفضاء

    And you see them in cramped

    Quarters, after that wide expanse.

  23. وَتَطايَروا بِيَد البِلى

    خَلفَ الجَنادِل كالهباء

    And they were scattered by decay's hand

    Behind the stones, like dust.

  24. وَالقيظُ عِندهُمُ وَقَد

    سُلبوا المِشاعرَ كالشّتاء

    And summer's heat, for them—now that

    They have been robbed of sensation—is like winter.

  25. ما في الرّدى ما في سوا

    هُ مِنَ التّنازع والمِراء

    In death is none of what exists outside

    It: contention and dispute.

  26. وَإِذا نَظرت إلى الحِما

    مِ فَما لِعَينك مِن غطاء

    And when you look upon death,

    Then your eye has no veil.

  27. خَلِّ التعجُّبَ مِن قَذىً

    وَخُذِ التعجُّبَ من صَفاء

    Leave off wonder at a mote,

    And take up wonder at clarity.

  28. يا قُربَ ما بَينَ الهنا

    ءِ بِما يَسرّك وَالعزاء

    How short the distance between congratulations

    For what delights you, and condolences!

  29. خَفِّض عَلَيكَ وَدَع تتب

    بُعَ ما مضى بيد القضاء

    Go easy on yourself, and cease pursuing

    What has gone away at fate's hand.

  30. وَإِذا بَقيتَ فَقُل لنا

    أَيَعيشُ مَيْتٌ بالبكاء

    And if you live on, tell us:

    Can a dead man live through weeping?

  31. وَالخَوفُ صِرْفٌ رِيبَ غي

    رُكَ إنّما هو للنساء

    And fear of fate's turns for someone

    Other than you is only for women.

  32. وَأَخوكَ أَفناهُ الّذي

    كانَ السبيلَ إلى الإخاء

    And your brother was claimed by the one

    Who had been the way to brotherhood.

  33. أَعْراكَ مَنْ قِدْماً كَسا

    وحباكَ مُرتجعُ الحِباء

    The one who once clothed you has stripped you;

    And the reclaimer of the gift bestowed it on you.

  34. لَيسَ التهالكُ في المُصي

    بَةِ بِالحميمِ من الوفاء

    Collapsing under the calamity

    Of losing a loved one is not fidelity.

  35. وَسِوى التجلّدِ في الشدي

    دَةِ إِنْ أَتَتك من العناء

    And anything but fortitude in hardship,

    Should it come upon you, is fruitless toil.

  36. وَعَلى التجاربِ بانَ نب

    عٌ تجتنيه مِنْ أَباء

    And through trials, bow-wood stands apart—

    The wood you harvest—from reeds.

  37. وَإِذا بَقيتَ فَلا تَلُمْ

    مَن خَصّ غَيركَ بِالفناء

    And if you live on, do not blame

    The one who singled out someone other than you for death.

  38. وَسَقى الّذي وَارَى أَخا

    كَ مِنَ الثّرى سَحُّ الرِّواء

    And may the soil that covered your brother

    Be watered by abundant, drenching rain:

  39. صَخْبُ الترنّمِ حالِكُ ال

    قطرينِ مَملوءُ الوعاء

    Loud in its chanting, dark on both

    Sides, its vessel full.

  40. وَلَرَحْمَةٌ مصبوبةٌ

    خيرٌ له من فيضِ ماء

    And surely mercy poured down

    Is better for him than a flood of water.