1. أيُّ موتٍ هذا الذي بات وسماً

    في الرجالِ والنسْوةِ في البلادِ

    What death is this that has become a mark

    on men and women throughout the land?

  2. أيُّ موتٍ هذا الذي يُزهقُ الأرْ

    واحَ تاركاً خلفهُ كلّ بادِ

    What death is this that extinguishes

    souls, leaving all that is visible behind?

  3. أتكونُ الارضُ ارتقتْ ام تراهُ

    صِبغةً أخرى من صِبَغِ الفسادِ

    Has the earth progressed, or do you see it

    as another hue among corruption's hues?

  4. ذلك الفسادُ الذي ما أتتْهُ

    أممٌ قد علَتْ كنوحٍ وعادِ

    That corruption which was never committed

    by nations once ascendant, like Noah's people and 'Ad,

  5. قد طغا في ميزانِ كونٍ فصارَ

    مثلَ ماءِ سدٍّ جرى دون وادِ

    has overwhelmed the balance of the universe, becoming

    like water from a dam flowing without a valley.

  6. فانظر الشمسَ في شروقٍ وبدرَ

    التمّ ها قد توشَّحا بالسوادِ

    So behold the sun at sunrise, and the moon

    at its fullness—behold, both have cloaked themselves in black.

  7. وانظر الماءَ والهواءَ الذينِ

    أمسيا سرّ موتِنا والحدادِ

    And look at the water and the air, which

    have become the secret behind our death and mourning.

  8. ما عميتُ اذ قلتُ كلُّ الطعامِ

    بات مرّاً لا يسلك في الفؤادِ

    I was not blind when I said that all food

    has grown bitter and finds no passage to the heart.

  9. مدنٌ أمستْ كالتوابيتِ لكنْ

    نَ عديدَ طلّابِها في ازديادِ!

    Cities have become like coffins, but

    the number of those seeking them keeps growing!

  10. "كلّ نفسٍ بما كسبَتْ رَهينه"

    قولُ حقٍّ قد جاء وقتُ الحصادِ

    “Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned.”

    A word of truth: the time of harvest has come.

  11. قد تفشّى في الكونِ فما كفاهُ

    ثمّ راح يُفتّشُ في عنادِ

    It has spread throughout the universe, yet that did not suffice it;

    then it went on searching stubbornly.

  12. فأصابَ الانسانَ دون سواه

    فاستشاط في كثرةٍ كالجرادِ

    So it struck humankind and none other,

    then raged in multitudes like locusts.

  13. وانتقىْ خيرَ امّةٍ أخرِجتْ للْ

    ناسِ بعد أنْ أصبَحتْ في رقادِ

    And it chose the best nation brought forth for

    humankind, after it had fallen into slumber,

  14. كيْ يحيلَ ابناءَها كالعبيدِ

    لا يميزونَ الغَيّ من الرشادِ

    to make its sons like slaves,

    who do not distinguish error from right guidance.

  15. قد ربا وما بانَ حتّى غدوا في

    غَمْرةٍ دون منطقٍ أو فؤادِ

    It grew without showing itself, until they fell into

    a stupor, without reason or heart.

  16. هؤلاءِ همْ قومُنا قد غدوْا في

    هيئةِ التماثيلِ بينَ العبادِ

    These are our people; they have assumed

    the form of statues among humankind.

  17. لا همومَ لها يبيتون غيرَ

    مكسبٍ او تجارةٍ في كسادِ

    They pass their nights with no concerns but

    profit or trade in a slump.

  18. لا حديثَ لهم سوى كَذْبةٍ أو

    فتنةٍ يخْدمون بها الأعادي

    They have nothing to say but a lie or

    discord through which they serve their foes.

  19. في جهالةٍ قلّ نظيرُها لا

    يعرِفون ذا القعدةِ من جمادِ

    In ignorance rarely equaled, they do not

    tell Dhu al-Qa'dah from Jumada.

  20. إنْ تسَلْهُم عن حقّك أو حقوق

    الناسِ فيهم قالوا لك باعتدادِ

    If you ask them about your right or the rights

    of people among them, they answer you with pride:

  21. إنّما نحنُ في حياةٍ بها لا

    ينفعُ المرءَ غيرُهُ في الشّدادِ

    “Ours is but a life in which

    no one helps another in times of hardship.”

  22. قدْ أصابتْهم فتنةُ المالِ والوُلْ

    دِ فصاروا في دأبِهم كالجمادِ

    They have been struck by the lure of wealth and

    children, and in their pursuits have become like lifeless matter.

  23. فارتقِبْ يابن آدم ما زرعتَ

    في حصادٍ يُشقيكَ يوْم المَعادِ

    So await, O son of Adam, what you have sown

    in a harvest that will torment you on the Day of Return.