11 Khayyam Poems in English and Farsi
Are you trying to find purpose or happiness in your present life? Life is sometimes challenging, but literature makes life more enjoyable for us. One should constantly try to appreciate the time they live in; that’s why you should become acquainted with Khayyam poems in English and Farsi. Omar Khayyam (Persian: عمر خیام) was an Iranian mathematician, astronomer, and poet, generally regarded as one of the most significant scientists of the Middle Ages. Khayyam poems in English and Farsi can help you enjoy life much more. The English writer Edward FitzGerald translated a collection of his Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1859) into English, and this is how most English-speaking readers became acquainted with Khayyam poems in English and Farsi. In this article, we’re going to introduce you to Khayyam poems in English and Farsi; so, keep reading!
What Are the Khayyam Poems in English and Farsi?
The Rubaiyat of this great poet, Khayyam, is one of the rare poems that different translators rendered into almost every language, including English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, and Urdu. You may be wondering why Khayyam is more popular than other great Persian poets in the world! Well, that’s because, in his poems, he doesn’t tell you to wait for a better future but to appreciate the moment you live in. Khayyam poems in English and Farsi can be a valuable treasure in your life. Here are 11 Khayyam poems in English and Farsi.
خیام، اگر ز باده مستی، خوش باش؛
با لاله‌رخی اگر نشستی، خوش باش؛
چون عاقبتِ کار جهان نیستی است،
انگار که نیستی، چو هستی خوش باش
Transcript:
Khayyam, agar ze bade masti, khosh bash
Ba laleh rokhi agar neshasti, khosh bash
Chon aghebate kare jahan nistist
Engar ke nisti, cho hasti khosh bash
English Translation:
O’ Khayyam, if you’re drunk with wine, be happy
If you’re talking with a pretty girl, be happy
Because there is nothing after this world
You will be forgotten as if you have never existed, so as long as you’re here, be happy
Khayyam poem analysis: in this quatrain, Khayyam asks others to enjoy whatever they’re doing because there is no world after we die. Interestingly, Khayyam Poems in English and Farsi are pretty different from the dominant religion in Muslim countries.
می نوش که عمر جاودانی اینست
خود حاصلت از دور جوانی اینست
هنگام گل و باده و یاران سرمست
خوش باش دمی که زندگانی اینست
Mey nosh ke more javdani in ast
Khod haselat az dor javani in ast
Hengame gol O bade O yarane sar mast
Khosh bash dami ke zendegani in ast
English translation
Drink wine because that’s what life to be
That is the outcome of your youth age
Hanging out with beloved, or drinking wine with friends
Enjoy, because that’s life is
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Summary)
Rubaiyat means quatrain, which is a stanza having four lines. Khayyam poems in English and Farsi mainly consist of Rubaiyat. You will read 2 of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam summary in the following.
امروز تو را دسترس فردا نیست
و اندیشهٔ فردات به جز سودا نیست
ضایع مکن این دم اَر دلت بیدار است
کاین باقیِ عمر را بقا پیدا نیست
Transcript:
Emruz to ra dastrase farad nist
Va andisheye fardat be joz soda nist
Zayeh makon in dam ar delat bidar ast
Ke in baghiye omr ra bagha peyda nist
English Translation:
Today, you can’t know about tomorrow
The thoughts about tomorrow are nothing but dreams
Don’t kill your heart, if it still is alive
Cause you can’t say how much you will be alive
تا کی غمِ آن خورم که دارم یا نه
وین عمر به خوشدلی گذارم یا نه
پر کن قدح باده، که معلومم نیست
کاین دم که فرو برم بر آرم یا نه
Transcript:
Ta key ghame an khoram ke daram ya na
Vin omr be khoshdeli gozaram ya na
Por kon bade ke ma’lomam nist
Kin dam ke foro baram bar aram ya na
English Translation:
Till when shall I worry whether I have enough to eat or not
Whether I will have a happy life or not?! Till when?
O’ cupbearer, fill up my cup
Because I don’t know till when I will be alive
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Original Persian
Some think Omar Khayyam is an Arab man, but it’s not true; he’s Persian born in Iran. Khayyam is well-known due to Edward Fitzgerald’s famous translation of approximately 600 short four-line poems, known as the Rubaiyat, published in 1859. Some people may have forgotten about Khayyam’s significant scientific accomplishments. Khayyam poems in English and Farsi are mostly in quatrains that you will read in the following.
ای دل چو زمانه می‌کند غمناکت
ناگه برود ز تن روان پاکت
بر سبزه نشین و خوش بزی روزی چند
زان پیش که سبزه بردمد از خاکت
Transcript:
Ey del cho zamane mikonad ghamnakat
Nagah beravad ze tan ravane pakat
Bar sabze neshin O khosh bezi rozi chand
Zan pish ke sabze bardamad az khakat
English Translation:
Oh my heart, when life breaks you
Know that someday everything will end
So, go to nature and enjoy life for some moments
Before you find grass growing on your corpse!
افسوس که نامه جوانی طی شد
و آن تازه بهار زندگانی دی شد
آن مرغ طرب که نام او بود شباب
افسوس ندانم که کی آمد کی شد
Transcript:
Afsos ke name javani tey shod
Va an taze bahar zendegani dey shod
An morghe tarab ke name ou bod Shabab
Afsos nadanam ke key amad key shod
English Translation:
Sadly, young ages have passed
Those new spring days turned to winter
Youth that was like a singing bird
Sadly, I don’t know when it came or even passed
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam Value
Scientists like Khayyam, immersed in natural law or abstract logic research, are completely cut off from the huge world of spiritual realities we collectively refer to as religion. In Khayyam poems in English and Farsi, you can see how his thoughts are utterly contradictory to religious beliefs.
ای بس که نباشیم و جهان خواهد بود
نی نام ز ما و نی نشان خواهد بود
زین پیش نبودیم و نبد هیچ خلل
زین پس چو نباشیم همان خواهد بود
Transcript:
Ey bas ke nabashim O jahan khahad bod
Ni nam ze ma O ni neshan khahad bud
Zin pish nabudim O nabud hich khelal
Zin pas cho nabashim haman khahad bud
English Translation:
Life passes even when you and I die
A day will arrive when no one even knows our names
There was no problem in the passing of nights and days when we weren’t born
Similarly, after our death, the world will be the same
این قافلهٔ عمر عجب می‌گذرد
دریاب دمی که با طرب می‌گذرد
ساقی غم فردای حریفان چه خوری
پیش آر پیاله را که شب می‌گذرد
Transcript:
In ghafeleye omr ajab migozarad
Daryab dami ke ba tarab migozarad
Saghi ghame fardaye harifan che khori
Pish ar piyaleh ra ke shab migozarad
English Translation:
Days of our lives pass quickly
Appreciate happy moments
O’ cupbearer, why sad about tomorrow!
Pour wine that the night passes
Analysis: “night” in the last line can both refer to dark moments of life or the night itself.
Why Are the Rubaiyat of Khayyam Important?
Khayyam poems in English and Farsi are essential to read because you can get rid of depression by reading his poems daily. Khayyam poems in English and Farsi are inspirations to the world; it’s evident that many other poets in the West were inspired by his poems.
می خوردن و شاد بودن آئین من است
فارغ بودن ز کفر و دین دین من است
Transcript:
Mey khordan O shad bodan ayine man ast
Fareq bodan ze kofr O din dine man ast
English Translation:
Drinking wine and happiness are my religion
Being free of infidelity and religion is my religion
تا چند زنم به روی دریاها خشت
بیزار شدم ز بت‌پرستان کنشت
خیام ، که گفت دوزخی خواهد بود
که رفت به دوزخ و که آمد ز بهشت
Transcript:
Ta chand zanam be roye daryaha khesht
Bizar shodam ze botparastane kenesht
Khayyam, keg oft dozakhi khahad bud?
Ke raft be dozakh O kea mad ze behesht?!
English Translation:
Till when should I keep repeating useless?!
I am tired of those empty-headed idol worshippers!
Khayyam, who said there would be hell?
Who saw or returned from hell and heaven?
گویند مرا که دوزخی باشد مست
قولیست خلاف دل در آن نتوان بست
گر عاشق و میخواره بدوزخ باشند
فردا بینی بهشت همچون کف دست
Transcript:
Goyand ma ra ke dozakhi bashad mast
Gholist khalafe del dar an natavan bast
Gar asheq O meykhare be dozakh bashand
Farad bini behesht hamchon kafe dast
English Translation:
Religious men say those who drink wine would go to hell
This is a false belief!
Even if wine drinkers go to hell
They will make hell a heaven
Analysis: Khayyam means that wine drinkers know how to be happy or enjoy the moment; that’s why even if they go to hell, they will make hell a great place like heaven.
Conclusion
Khayyam poems in English and Farsi are excellent evidence of how tired he was of social or religious norms. In these Khayyam poems in English and Farsi, which we have translated in this article, you may be encouraged by them to live in the moment and enjoy whatever you are doing. We urge that you share his poems with individuals who are depressed or unable to appreciate the current moment. So, pour a glass of wine and enjoy life!
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