أَبَا شُريحٍ فلا تَحزُنكَ عَشرَتُنا

أَبَا شُريحٍ فلا تَحزُنكَ عَشرَتُنا

فَالَمرءُ رَهنٌ لريبِ الدَّهرِ والُحمَمِ

فَالَمرءُ رَهنٌ لريبِ الدَّهرِ والُحمَمِ

O Abu Shurayh, let not our companionship grieve you.

Abu Shuraih, do not let our parting grieve you,

For man is hostage to time’s reversals and the decrees of death.

For man is hostage to the vicissitudes of fate.

إنَّ الأَسَى قَبلَنا جَمٌّ ونَعلَمُه

إنَّ الأَسَى قَبلَنا جَمٌّ ونَعلَمُه

فِيما أُديلَ مِنَ الأَجدادِ والأُمَمِ

فِيما أُديلَ مِنَ الأَجدادِ والأُمَمِ

Indeed, sorrow was abundant before us, and we know it

Grief has long been our precedent, as we know,

In the forefathers and nations whose fortunes were overturned.

Among the ancestors and nations of old.

مِنهُم رَأَيتُ عِياناً أو تُخَبِّرُهُ

مِنهُم رَأَيتُ عِياناً أو تُخَبِّرُهُ

وما تُحَدِّثُ عَن عادٍ وعَن إرَمِ

وما تُحَدِّثُ عَن عادٍ وعَن إرَمِ

Some of them I saw firsthand, or you recount their story,

Of them I saw with my eyes, or heard related,

And what you relate of ʿAd and of Iram.

Tales not only of Aad and of Iram,

ودُونَ ذلكَ كَم مَلكٍ ومَغبِطَةٍ

ودُونَ ذلكَ كَم مَلكٍ ومَغبِطَةٍ

بادُوا وكانُوا كَفَيِّ الظِّلِّ والُحلُمِ

بادُوا وكانُوا كَفَيِّ الظِّلِّ والُحلُمِ

And besides that, how many kings and envied fortunes

But apart from those, many a king and envy

Perished, having been like a shadow’s shade and a dream.

Perished and were but like shadows and dreams.