84. Abū Zayd al-Namirī narrated to us; Ibn ʿĀʾisha transmitted it and said, “ʿUtaybah ibn Hārūn recited to me some lines by Ibn Abī ʿAmrah—namely, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Abī ʿAmrah.” Ibn al-Ḥusayn likewise narrated to us; Ibn ʿĀʾisha transmitted from Ibn Abī ʿAmrah, who said: ⦗90⦘

O you whom hopeful fancy has beguiled—
between you and what you long for stand vexation and the destined end.

Do you not see that this world and all its glitter
resemble a caravan leader who stops at a house, then moves on?

Death lies in ambush, life within it is hardship;
its purest draft a fleeting sip, its sovereignty forever changing hands.

Its dweller remains startled by sudden terrors,
finding in it neither gentle ease nor lasting plenty.

He is but a target set up for death and ruin;
the daughters of Time circle round him without cease.

And man toils in misery for what an heir will seize,
while the grave is the true heir to all for which he strove.