Alone with the Alone

Quote No. 91 from Ali Ibn Abi Talib

On the World and Its Illusions

إنّما الدنيا كظلٍّ زائلٍ
أو كضيفٍ باتَ ليلًا فارتحل
أو كطيفٍ قد يراهُ نائمٌ
أو كبرقٍ لاحَ في أفقِ الأمل

This world is like a shadow cast on a wall
Like a guest who stays the night, then leaves
Like a fleeting vision, seen in a dream
Like a flash of lightning across the horizon

No. 91

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