وَقَدَّرَ لَكُمْ أَعْمَاراً سَتَرَهَا عَنْكُمْ، وَخَلَّفَ لَكُمْ عِبَراً مِنْ آثَارِ الْمَاضِينَ قَبْلَكُمْ، مِنْ مُسْتَمْتَعِ خَلاَقِهِمْ، وَمُسْتَفْسَحِ خَنَاقِهِمْ. أَرْهَقَتْهُمُ الْمَنَايَا دُونَ الاْمَالِ، وَشَذَّبَهمْ عَنْهَا تَخَرُّمُ الاْجَالِ، لَمْ يَمْهَدُوا فِي سَلاَمَةِ الاْبْدَانِ، وَلَمْ يَعْتَبِرُوا فِي أُنُفِ الاْوَانِ. فَهَلْ يَنْتَظِرُ أَهْلُ بَضَاضَةِ الشَّبَابِ إِلاَّ حَوَانِيَ الْهَرَمِ؟ وَأَهْلُ غَضَارَةِ الصِّحَّةِ إِلاَّ نَوَازِلَ السَّقَمِ؟ وَأَهْلُ مُدَّةِ الْبَقَاءِ إِلاَّ آوِنَةَ الْفَنَاءِ؟ مَعَ قُرْبِ الزِّيَالِ، وَأُزُوفِ الانتِقَالِ، وَعَلَزِ الْقَلَقِ، وَأَلَمِ الْمَضَضِ، وَغُصَصِ الْجَرَضِ، وَتَلَفُّتِ الاِسْتِغَاثَةِ بِنُصْرَةِ الْحَفَدَةِ وَالاْقْرِبَاءِ، وَالاْعِزَّةِ وَالْقُرَنَاءِ!
He has fixed for you ages that are not known to you. He has retained for you remains of the past people for your instruction. Those people enjoyed themselves fully and were completely unhampered. Death overtook them before (satisfaction of) their desires, from which the hands of death separated them. They did not provide for themselves during health of their bodies, and did not take lesson during pendency of youth. Are these people who are in youth waiting for the back-bending old age, and those enjoying fresh health waiting for ailments, and these living persons looking for the hour of death? When the hour of departure would be close and the journey at hand, with pangs of grief an trouble, suffering of sorrows and suffocation of saliva, and the time would arrive for calling relations and friends for help and changing sides on the bed.