Nās fī bilādī, Al-

The poem "Al-Nās fī bilādī" (The People in My Country) was written by the modern Egyptian poet Salah Abd al-Sabur. This work is an example of ascetic poetry, a genre that reflects on the ephemerality of life and the human condition. The poem depicts a rural preacher and touches upon themes of mortality and the eventual demise of those who accumulate wealth and power. This aligns with the broader tradition of ascetic poetry in Arabic literature, which often contemplates the transient nature of worldly possessions and the inevitability of death, drawing parallels with Qur'anic messages about the afterlife.1