Gleanings — Paragraph 248
Source (Arabic)
قل ان كنتم تریدون الدّنیا وزخرفها ینبغی لكم بأن تطلبوها في الأیّام الّتی كنتم في بطون امّهاتكم لأنّ في تلك الأیّام في كلّ آن تقرّبتم الی الدّنیا وتبعّدتم عنها ان كنتم من العاقلین فلمّا ولدتم وبلغ اشدّكم اذاً تبعّدتم عن الدّنیا وتقرّبتم الی التّراب فكیف تحرصون في جمع الزّخارف علی انفسكم بعد الّذی فات الوقت عنكم ومضت الفرصة فتنبّهوا یا ملأ الغافلین
Translation
Say: If ye be seekers after this life and the vanities thereof, ye should have sought them while ye were still enclosed in your mothers’ wombs, for at that time ye were continually approaching them, could ye but perceive it. Ye have, on the other hand, ever since ye were born and attained maturity, been all the while receding from the world and drawing closer to dust. Why, then, exhibit such greed in amassing the treasures of the earth, when your days are numbered and your chance is well-nigh lost? Will ye not, then, O heedless ones, shake off your slumber?