طَحَا بِي مَرَحُ الشَّبَابِ وَهَوَى الِاكْتِسَابِ
The exuberance of youth and the desire to earn carried me far.
Ṭaḥā bī suggests being driven or carried onward. Maraḥ al-shabāb conveys youthful high spirits, while hawā al-iktisāb is eagerness to acquire a livelihood. Together they explain both his motion and his motive.
A short opening thus gives the reader age, temperament, and purpose, rather than merely stating that the narrator traveled.
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The Alexandrian Maqāmah — A Traveler’s Ambition and a Complaint before the Judge
طَحَا بِي مَرَحُ الشَّبَابِ وَهَوَى الِاكْتِسَابِ
The exuberance of youth and the desire to earn carried me far.
Ṭaḥā bī suggests being driven or carried onward. Maraḥ al-shabāb conveys youthful high spirits, while hawā al-iktisāb is eagerness to acquire a livelihood. Together they explain both his motion and his motive.
A short opening thus gives the reader age, temperament, and purpose, rather than merely stating that the narrator traveled.