Alone with the Alone

Quote No. 92 from Ali Ibn Abi Talib

On the World and Its Illusions

النفسُ تبكي على الدنيا وقد علمت
أنّ السلامةَ فيها تركُ ما فيها
لا دارَ للمرءِ بعد الموتِ يسكنُها
إلّا التي كانَ قبلَ الموتِ بانيها
فإن بناها بخيرٍ طابَ مسكنُها
وإن بناها بشرٍّ خابَ بانيها
أين الملوكُ التي كانت مُسلطنةً
حتّى سقاها بكأسِ الموتِ ساقيها

The soul weeps over this world, though it knows
That safety from it means abandoning what is in it
No home shall a person inhabit after their death
Other than the one they built before it
If they build it from good deeds
Blessed is its dwelling
If they build it from evil deeds
Ruined is its builder
Where are the kings who once ruled, until
The cupbearer of death made them drink out of it

No. 92

These quotes come from Alone with the Alone, a 264-page bilingual hardcover of 113 quotes from Ali Ibn Abi Talib, with footnotes and an afterword.

See the book