XXV: The chiefs and the monarchs of the world

The chiefs and the monarchs of the world,
At last, abject and confounded, depart.

They are fastened to the link-rope of fate,
Like as captives together are chained.

Sweet existence departeth front him,
And the king hath neither power nor control.

Though he give away wealth and lands,
He obtaineth neither quarter nor mercy.

He hath neither friend nor defender:
Both pain and agony overcome him.

Helpless, in his presence, will be standing,
Both his ministers and his envoys too.

No remedy can be prescribed for him;
And doctors, nonplussed, hang their heads.

His dominions remain behind him;
And from regret and sorrow his heart breaketh.

When the soul hath deserted his body,
His family weep, and bewail his loss.

For an hour or so, they mourn over him;
Then the poor creatures grow calm again.

They then remove him for the ablution,
And place him naked on the stretcher.

Then of his garments, become covetous,
The washers and the bathers of the dead,

On the return home from the grave,
The heirs share, and carry the effects away.

Both his friends, and his enemies, alike,
To his throne and country lay claim.

His handmaidens and concubines, they
Are carried off by the dead man's compeers.

Both name and vestige of him are lost,
As if, indeed, he had never existed.

Not even a record of him remaineth;
Not even his title, to future times.

The world, verily, is like a running stream,
Upon which no impression can remain.

Though one may people a thousand spots,
Still, all, at last, must desolate become!

Like as the wind cometh and passeth by,
So rolleth away the course of time!

This exposition was long and lengthy,
But Rahman hath condensed and abridged it.