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

لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ مَا أَخْطَأَ الْفَتَى
لَكَالطَّوْلِ الْمُرْخَى وَثِنْيَاهُ بِالْيَدِ
Meaning: By your life, for a young man whom death has not yet overtaken, death is like a long tether loosened for an animal, while the end of the rope remains held in a hand.

Al-ṭawl al-murkhā is a length of rope that permits some freedom of movement. Thinyāhu bi-l-yad pictures its controlling end still held. The simile is powerful because apparent freedom and ultimate restraint coexist. The speaker may still move and act, yet the final limit lies outside his control.

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Verse 67: the loose tether and certain end

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

لَعَمْرُكَ إِنَّ الْمَوْتَ مَا أَخْطَأَ الْفَتَى
لَكَالطَّوْلِ الْمُرْخَى وَثِنْيَاهُ بِالْيَدِ
Meaning: By your life, for a young man whom death has not yet overtaken, death is like a long tether loosened for an animal, while the end of the rope remains held in a hand.

Al-ṭawl al-murkhā is a length of rope that permits some freedom of movement. Thinyāhu bi-l-yad pictures its controlling end still held. The simile is powerful because apparent freedom and ultimate restraint coexist. The speaker may still move and act, yet the final limit lies outside his control.