«إِلَى أَنْ هَرِمَ النَّهَارُ وَكَادَ جَرْفُ الْيَوْمِ يَنْهَارُ»
Until the day grew old and the day's edge seemed about to collapse.
Harima means to grow old. A day cannot literally age, so the expression personifies time. Jarf is a bank or edge, and yanhār evokes collapse.
Together these images make time feel physical: a long-lived creature and an eroding bank. The morning promise has lasted almost until night, with no sign of the promised return.
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The Dimyāṭī Maqāmah: Abū Zayd Unmasked and His Parting Message
«إِلَى أَنْ هَرِمَ النَّهَارُ وَكَادَ جَرْفُ الْيَوْمِ يَنْهَارُ»
Until the day grew old and the day's edge seemed about to collapse.
Harima means to grow old. A day cannot literally age, so the expression personifies time. Jarf is a bank or edge, and yanhār evokes collapse.
Together these images make time feel physical: a long-lived creature and an eroding bank. The morning promise has lasted almost until night, with no sign of the promised return.