Alone with the Alone

Quote No. 75 from Ali Ibn Abi Talib

On the World and Its Illusions

يا دنيا يا دنيا، إليكِ عنّي، أبي تعرّضتِ أم إليَّ تشوّقتِ؟ لا حانَ حينُكِ، هيهاتَ، غُرّي غيري، قد طلّقتُكِ ثلاثًا لا رجعةَ فيها، فعيشُكِ قصيرٌ، وخطرُكِ يسيرٌ، وأملُكِ حقير.

O world, O world, away with you. Are you seducing me, or are you longing for me? Never. Deceive someone else. I have divorced you three times, whereafter there is no going back. Your life is short, your importance little, your aspirations base.

No. 75

These quotes come from Alone with the Alone, a 264-page bilingual hardcover of 113 quotes from Ali Ibn Abi Talib, with footnotes and an afterword.

See the book