Everything on the earth is perishing.
But the Face of your Lord, Majestic and Most Generous, remains.
كل من عليها فان ويبقى وجه ربك ذو الجلال والإكرام
Küllü men aleyhâ fân. Ve yebkâ vechü Rabbike zü'l-celâli ve'l-ikrâm
The Holy Qur'an, Ar-Rahman 55:26-27 (meaning).
In two sentences the verse fills both pans of the whole scale.
In the first pan stands whatever is upon the face of the earth: mountains, sovereignties, names, beloved faces.
In the other pan there is a single thing, and the scale tips toward it.
Here transience is not spoken as a threat; it is spoken as a measure.
Whoever knows what is passing also knows where to hold fast; he does not entrust his heart to flowing water, he turns it toward the water's source.