I will, O Messenger of Allah, relate it.” He then recited for us, saying:
[composed in the Baḥr al-Kāmil metre]
Among the earliest people who have passed away—
from former generations—clear lessons shine for us.
When I beheld the watering-places of death,
all entrances with no paths back,
I knew the past will never return to me,
nor will any of those who remain stay forever;
I became certain—inevitably—
that I shall go where those people have gone.