The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, XLIV

translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani

Hither we come unknowing, hence we go;
Unknowing we are messaged to and fro;
      And yet we think we know all things of earth
And sky—the suns and stars we think we know.

Credit

The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala (James T. White & Co., 1920) by Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Ma‘arrī. Translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani. Copyright © 1920 by Ameen Rihani. This poem is in the public domain.

Translators
Ameen Rihani
1876 –
1940