Death hath destroyed them and disunited them, and in the dust they have lost what they amassed;
As though they had only put down their loads to rest a while: quickly have they departed!
And the Emir Musa wept until he became insensible, and he said, There is no deity but God, the Living, the Enduring without failure! He then entered the palace, and was confounded by its beauty and its construction; and he looked at the figures and images that it contained. And, lo, over the second door were inscribed some verses. So the Emir Musa said, Advance, O sheykh, and read. Accordingly he advanced and read; and the verses were these:
How many companies have alighted in the tabernacles since times of old, and taken their departure!
Consider thou then what the accidents of fortune have done with others when they have befallen them.
They have shared together what they collected, and they have left the pleasure thereof, and departed.
What enjoyments they had! and what food did they eat! and then in the dust they themselves were eaten!
And again the Emir Musa wept violently: the world became yellow before his face; and he said, We have been created for a great object!
Then they attentively viewed the palace; and, lo, it was devoid of inhabitants, destitute of household and occupants: its courts were desolate, and its apartments were deserted; and in the midst of it was a chamber covered with a lofty dome, rising high into the air, around which were four hundred tombs. To these tombs the Emir Musa drew near, and, behold, among them was a tomb constructed of marble, whereupon were engraved these verses:
How often have I stood [in fight]! and how often slain! and to how many things have I been a witness!
And how often have I eaten! and how often drunk! and how often have I heard the songs of beauteous damsels!
And how often have I ordered! and how often forbidden! and how many strong fortresses are seen,
Which I have besieged and searched, and from which I have taken the lovely females' ornaments!
But in my ignorance I transgressed to obtain things wished for, which proved at last to be frail.
