عمر الخيام

كُن في الزَّمانِ ابنَ يَومٍ لا ابنَ أَمس وَلا تُفَكِّر في غَدٍ لَم يَأت

“Be a child of today, not yesterday, and do not think of a tomorrow that has not yet come.”

آنٍ حاضِرٌ خَيرٌ مِن أَلفِ غائِب

“A present moment is worth more than a thousand absent ones.”

وَما الدُّنيا سِوى حُلمٍ طَويلٍ وَسَكرٍ لَم يُفِق مِنهُ نَبيه

“The world is nothing but a long dream and an intoxication from which even its prophet has not sobered.”

يَدُ الأَيّامِ تَمحو كُلَّ شَيءٍ وَلا يَبقى سِوى ذِكرُ الجَميل

“The hand of days erases everything — nothing remains but the memory of what was beautiful.”

وَقفنا عَلى دارِ مَن قَد مَضى فَلَم يَفتَح البابَ حَيٌّ وَلا مَيِّت

“We stood at the door of those who have passed — neither the living nor the dead opened it.”

أَنا في قَيدِ الحَياةِ وَلَستُ أَدري لِماذا جِئتُ وَلا أَيَن المَصير

“I am bound by life, yet I know not why I came nor where the end lies.”

الوَجودُ سُؤالٌ وَالعَدَمُ جَواب

“Existence is a question; non-existence is its answer.”

إِنَّ الشَّبابَ كَأَنَّهُ طَيفُ مَنامٍ يُعانِقُ الإِنسانَ ثُمَّ يَنساه

“Youth is like a dream that embraces a man and then forgets him.”

إِذا مُتنا وَدُفِّنّا في التُّراب تَبحَثُ عَنّا أَيدٍ وَلا تَجِد

“When we die and are buried in the earth, hands shall search for us and find nothing.”

نَحنُ لا نَملِكُ الغَدَ وَإِنَّما نَملِكُ هَذِهِ اللَّحظَة

“We do not own tomorrow; we own only this moment.”

قُل لِمَن يَسأَلُ عَنّي بَعدَ مَوتي: كانَ يَعشَقُ وَيَشعُرُ وَيُفكِّر

“Tell whoever asks about me after my death: he loved, he felt, he thought.”

اشرَب مِن كَأسِ الحَياةِ وَأَنتَ تَعلَمُ أَنَّها سَتَنتَهي

“Drink from life's cup knowing it will run dry.”

كُلُّنا في مَسرَحِ الوُجودِ نُمَثِّل ثُمَّ نَغيب

“We are all players on the stage of existence — then we vanish.”

الحَياةُ مُسافِرٌ وَالمَوتُ مَنزِله

“Life is a traveller and death is its destination.”

لَو كُنتُ أَملِكُ هَذا الوُجودَ لَهَدَمتُهُ وَأَعَدتُ بِناءَهُ عَلى أَساسِ المَحَبَّة

“If I owned this existence, I would demolish it and rebuild it on the foundation of love.”

كَم مِن لَيلٍ طَويلٍ تَساءَلتُ فيهِ عَن سِرِّ الوُجودِ فَلَم أَجِد جَواباً

“How many a long night have I asked about the secret of existence and found no answer.”

لا تُؤَجِّل عَمَلَ اليَومِ إِلى الغَدِ فَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ يَومٍ ما يَكفيه

“Do not defer today's work to tomorrow — every day has enough of its own.”