LessonsṬarafah: Three Pleasures of Life and the Certainty of Death (Verses 55–67)Quiz

أَرَى الْمَوْتَ يَعْتَامُ الْكِرَامَ وَيَصْطَفِي
عَقِيلَةَ مَالِ الْفَاحِشِ الْمُتَشَدِّدِ
Meaning: I see death choose noble people and take what is most precious from the wealth of the harsh, grasping miser.

Yaʿtāmu and yaṣṭafī both suggest selecting; ʿaqīlat māl is the choicest part of one’s property. Death is portrayed as though it could deliberately select its targets, a form of personification rather than a literal claim about a human decision-maker. Prestige and accumulated property are both shown as unable to secure permanence.

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Verse 65: death chooses whom it takes

Ṭarafah: Three Pleasures of Life and the Certainty of Death (Verses 55–67)

أَرَى الْمَوْتَ يَعْتَامُ الْكِرَامَ وَيَصْطَفِي
عَقِيلَةَ مَالِ الْفَاحِشِ الْمُتَشَدِّدِ
Meaning: I see death choose noble people and take what is most precious from the wealth of the harsh, grasping miser.

Yaʿtāmu and yaṣṭafī both suggest selecting; ʿaqīlat māl is the choicest part of one’s property. Death is portrayed as though it could deliberately select its targets, a form of personification rather than a literal claim about a human decision-maker. Prestige and accumulated property are both shown as unable to secure permanence.