42 – It reached me from Ḥarmala ibn Yaḥyā; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb narrated to us; Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah narrated to us; he said: A Coptic man from Najrān informed me, saying: “These are the verses of the priest of Najrān:

[al-kāmil metre]
The sun’s unending turn has banished every stay,
Its rise from realms where it can never rest at night.
It climbs in crimson hues when first it shows the day,
Then sinks in yellow, saffron-gold before its flight.
It sets as though to see what new events will spring,
A season slips away—yesterday has taken wing.”