Khayyam Quotes & Sayings

Men talk of heaven, - there is no heaven but here;
Men talk of hell, - there is no hell but here;
Men of hereafters talk and future lives, -
O love, there is no other life - but here. — Omar Khayyam

And do you think that unto such as you
A maggot-minded, starved, fanatic crew
God gave a secret, and denied it me?
Well, well - what matters it? Believe that, too! — Omar Khayyam

I value the lover's
sighs of happiness and I despise the hypocrite
mumbling his prayers. — Omar Khayyam

The value of three things is justly appreciated by all classes of men: youth, by the old; health, by the diseased; and wealth, by the needy. — Omar Khayyam

But leave the wise to wrangle and with me
the quarrel of the universe let be,
and in some corner of the hubbub couch't
make game of that which makes as much of thee — Omar Khayyam

If wine is the enemy of religion, I shall devour the enemy of religion. — Idries Shah

To all of us the thought of heaven is dear
Why not be sure of it and make it here?
No doubt there is a heaven yonder too,
But 'tis so far away
and you are near. — Omar Khayyam

Your hand can seize today, but not tomorrow; and thoughts of your tomorrow are nothing but desire. Don't waste this breath, if your heart isn't crazy, since "the rest of your life" won't last forever. — Omar Khayyam

Now the New Year reviving old Desires.
The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires,
Where the White Hand Of Moses on the Bough
Puts out, and Jesus from the Ground suspires. — Omar Khayyam

Tis all a Chequer-board of nights and days
Where Destiny with men for Pieces plays:
Hither and thither moves, and mates,and slays,
And one by one back in the closet lays. — Omar Khayyam

Every particle of dust on a patch of earth
Was a sun-cheek or brow of the morning star;
Shake the dust off your sleeve carefully
That too was a delicate, fair face. — Omar Khayyam

It's too bad if a heart lacks fire,
and is deprived of the light
of a heart ablaze.
The day on which you are
without passionate love
is the most wasted day of your life. — Omar Khayyam

By the help of God and with His precious assistance, I say that Algebra is a scientific art. The objects with which it deals are absolute numbers and measurable quantities which, though
themselves unknown, are related to "things" which are known, whereby the determination of the unknown quantities is possible. — Omar Khayyam

My tomb shall be in a spot where the north wind may scatter roses over it. — Omar Khayyam

The arch of heaven looks like an
upside-down cup, under which the wise
wander in vain. May your love for your beloved
be as great as the love of the bottle for the glass.
Look, how one gives and one receives, lip against
lip, the precious blood of the grapes. — Omar Khayyam

There was a door to which I found no key: There was the veil through which I might not see. — Omar Khayyam

This world
that was our home
for a brief spell
never brought us anything
but pain and grief;
its a shame that not one of our problems
was ever solved.
We depart
with a thousand regrets
in our hearts. — Omar Khayyam

When Allah created me, he knew that I
would drink a lot of wine. So if I didn't, the
omniscience of Allah would stand on its head. — Omar Khayyam

People talk about the Creator -
But surely he didn't create man only
to destroy him later! Because we are bad? And
who's to blame for that? Or because we are beautiful?
I can't make any sense of it. — Omar Khayyam

The scent of wine rising
from my grave will be so strong
that it will intoxicate passers-by.
There will be such an atmosphere of serenity
that couples in love will find it impossible
to tear themselves away. — Omar Khayyam

The leaves of life are falling one by one — Omar Khayyam

In monasteries, seminaries, retreats and synagogues, they fear hell and seek paradise. Those who know the mysteries of God never let that seed be planted in their souls. — Omar Khayyam

For in and out, above, about, below, 'Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show, Played in a Box whose Candle is the Sun, Round which we Phantom Figures come and go. — Omar Khayyam

The Stars are setting and the Caravan Starts for the Dawn of Nothing-Oh, make haste! — Omar Khayyam

Then to this earthen Bowl did I adjourn
My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn:
And Lip to Lip it murmur'd
'While you live,
Drink!
for once dead you never shall return. — Omar Khayyam

Know yourself as a snowdrift on the sand Heaped for two days, or three, then thawed and gone. (c.1050-c.1123) — Omar Khayyam

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. — Omar Khayyam

Up from Earth's Centre through the Seventh Gate rose, and on the Throne of Saturn sate; And many a Knot unravel'd by the Road; But not the Master-knot of Human Fate. — Omar Khayyam

There are too many tears in my eyes!
The fires of Hell are no more than sparks of fire
as compared to the flames that consume me inside.
Paradise? For me it means
a moment of peace. — Omar Khayyam

Myself when young did eagerly frequent doctor and saint, and heard great argument about it and about: but evermore came out by the same door as in I went. — Omar Khayyam

You've seen the world, and all you've seen is nothing; and everything, as well, that you have said and heard is nothing. You've sprinted everywhere between here and the horizon; it is nothing. And all the possessions you've treasured up at home are nothing. — Omar Khayyam

Heaven's wheel gained nothing from my coming,
Nor did my going augment its dignity;
Nor did my ears hear from anyone
Why I had come and why I went.
He began my creation with constraint,
By giving me life he added only confusion;
We depart reluctantly still not knowing
The aim of birth, existence, departure. — Omar Khayyam

Think not I dread to see my spirit fly,
Through the dark gates of fell mortality;
Death has no terrors when the life is true;
'Tis living ill that makes us fear to die. — Omar Khayyam

Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie, Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and-sans End! — Omar Khayyam

And that inverted Bowl they call the Sky, Whereunder crawling cooped we live and die, Lift not your hands to It for help-for it As impotently moves as you or I — Omar Khayyam

Realise this: one day your soul
will depart from your body and you will
be drawn behind the curtain that floats between us
and the unknown. While you wait for that moment, be happy,
because you don't know where you came from and
you don't know where you will be going. — Omar Khayyam

The unbeliever knows his Koran best. — Omar Khayyam

The creator of stars, heaven and earth
surpassed himself when he also created pain. Lips like rubies, delicious-smelling hair, blooming flowers, how many of you are
already buried in earthy soil? — Omar Khayyam

You know, my friends, with what a brave carouse I made a Second Marriage in my house; favored old barren reason from my bed, and took the daughter of the vine to spouse. — Omar Khayyam

But still a Ruby kindles in the Vine, And many a Garden by the Water blows. — Omar Khayyam

When you have planted
the rose of Love into your heart
your life has not been in vain. — Omar Khayyam

I drink not from mere joy in wine nor to scoff at faith - no, only to forget myself for a moment, that only do I want of intoxication, that alone. - OMAR KHAYYAM — Ernest Becker

Oh, the brave Music of a distant drum! — Omar Khayyam

One can no more set fire to the sea,
than convince people of the dangers of happiness - And yet, we know that though the smallest shock is fatal
to the filled up bottle, that shock will not break
the empty one. — Omar Khayyam

What is my true substance?
What will remain of me after my death?
Our life is as short as a raging fire:
flames the passer-by soon forgets,
ashes the wind blows away.
A man's life. — Omar Khayyam

O ignorant world that brutishly denies
Free speech unto the exquisitely wise! — Omar Khayyam

While the Rose blows along the River Brink, With old Khayyam the Ruby Vintage drink: And when the Angel with his darker Draught Draws up to thee - take that, and do not shrink. — Omar Khayyam

O friend, for the morrow let us not worry
This moment we have now, let us not hurry
When our time comes, we shall not tarry
With seven thousand-year-olds, our burden carry — Omar Khayyam

Drunk am I with love and awe;
'Twas ever thus with veritable seers
Too drunk with joy to tell us what they saw. — Omar Khayyam

If I don't enjoy myself now, when shall I? — Omar Khayyam

Why, if the Soul can fling the Dust aside,
And naked on the Air of Heaven ride,
Is it not a Shame
is it not a Shame for him
So long in this Clay suburb to abide! — Omar Khayyam

To bind one free man with love is better than to release a thousand slaves. — Idries Shah

For in the Market-place, one Dusk of Day, I watch'd the Potter thumping his wet Clay: And with its all obliterated Tongue It murmur'd - "Gently, Brother, gently, pray!" XXXVII. — Omar Khayyam

We come into this world in the waters and leave it in the winds — Omar Khayyam

And that inverted Bowl we call The Sky,
Whereunder crawling coop't we live and die,
Lift not thy hands to it for help
for It
Rolls impotently on as Thou or I. — Omar Khayyam

Why was I born, when will I die?
Who can change the day of his birth,
who has a say in the day of his death?
Come, my beloved, I want to ask the spirit
of the wine to make me forget that we
shall never understand. — Omar Khayyam

The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sects confute:
The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice
Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute. — Omar Khayyam

Into this Universe, and why not knowing,
Nor whence, like Water willy-nilly flowing;
And out of it, as Wind along the Waste,
I know not whither, willy-nilly blowing. — Omar Khayyam

To-day is thine to spend, but not to-morrow; Counting on morrows breedeth bankrupt sorrow: O squander not this breath that Heaven hath lent thee; Make not too sure another breath to borrow. — Omar Khayyam

A Moment's Halt-a momentary taste
Of BEING from the Well amid the Waste-
And, Lo! the phantom Caravan has reach'd
The NOTHING it set out from. Oh, make haste! — Omar Khayyam

How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting?
Better go drunk and begging round the taverns.
Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this clay of yours
Will make a cup, bowl, one day a jar.
When once you hear the roses are in bloom,
Then is the time, my love, to pour the wine;
Houris and palaces and Heaven and Hell-
These are but fairy-tales, forget them all. — Omar Khayyam

Strange is the riddle of this life of ours!
Who knows the meaning of the heavenly powers?
Great Caesar's wounds bleed yearly in the rose,
And flower-like ladies turn again to flowers. — Omar Khayyam

Inscribed on it was a verse from the Quatrains of Omar Khayyam, the eleventh-century Persian mystic. Reading the words aloud I prepared for a most amazing journey:
The sages who have compassed sea and land,
Their secret to search out and understand,
My mind misgives me if they ever solve
The scheme on which the universe is planned. — Tahir Shah

God is great!
That shout from the mosque seems like
a grand lamentation. Five times a day
the earth seems to groan against
its indifferent creator! — Omar Khayyam

Enough of medical ethics. Let Uncle
Hippocrates rest in peace. It's time to send an S.O.S to Uncle Omar Khayyam instead. — Anurag Shourie

What shall I do, today? Visit the pub?
Sit down in a garden with a book? A bird
flies past. Where is it headed? It's out of
sight already. The drunkenness of a bird in the
burning azure. The melancholy of a man
in the cool shadow of a mosque. — Omar Khayyam

Of threats of Hell and Hopes of Paradise! One thing at least is certain - This Life flies; One thing is certain and the rest is — Omar Khayyam

We are in truth but pieces on this chess board of life,which in the end we leave,only to drop one by one into the grave of nothingness. — Omar Khayyam

And this I know; whether the one True Light Kindle to Love, or Wrath consume me quite, One flash of it within the Tavern caught Better than in the temple lost outright. — Omar Khayyam

So when that Angel of the darker Drink, at last shall find you by the river-brink,
And, offering his Cup, invite your Soul forth to your Lips to quaff-you shall not shrink. — Omar Khayyam

Would you be happy! hearken, then, the way:
Heed not to-morrow, heed not yesterday;
The magic words of life are here and now -
O fools, that after some to-morrow stray! — Omar Khayyam

I sometimes think the Pussy-Willows grey
Are Angel Kittens who have lost their way,
And every Bulrush on the river bank
A Cat-Tail from some lovely Cat astray. — Oliver Herford

The rose that once has bloomed forever dies. — Omar Khayyam

We shall perish
along the path of Love.
Fate will trample us. Yeah, tempting
young woman, get up and give me your lips
before I return to dust. — Omar Khayyam

Waste not your Hour, nor in the vain pursuit
Of This and That endeavor and dispute;
Better be merry with the fruitful Grape
Than sadden after none, or bitter, fruit. — Omar Khayyam

Today is the time of my youth
I drink wine because it is my solace;
Do not blame me, although it is bitter it is pleasant,
It is bitter because it is my life. — Omar Khayyam

Why, all the Saints and Sages who discuss'd Of the Two Worlds so wisely - they are thrust Like foolish Prophets forth; their Words to Scorn Are scattered, and their mouths are stopped with Dust. — Omar Khayyam

Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,
Before we too into the Dust descend;
Dust into Dust, and under Dust to lie
Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and
sans End!
Alike for those who for To-day prepare,
And those that after some To-morrow stare,
A Muezzin from the Tower of Darkness cries
Fools! your Reward is neither Here nor There. — Omar Khayyam

I brought the cup to my lips with greed
Begging for longevity, my temporal need
Cup brought its to mine, its secret did feed
Time never returns, drink, of this take heed — Omar Khayyam

When your soul and mine
have left our bodies and we are
burried alongside each other,
a Potter may one day mould
the dust of both of us
into the same clay. — Omar Khayyam

To be free of belief and unbelief is my religion. — Omar Khayyam

Oh Thou, who Man of baser Earth didst make,
And ev'n with Paradise devise the snake;
For all the Sin wherewith the Face of Man
Is blackened - Man's forgiveness give and take! — Omar Khayyam

It is a shame for anyone
to be well-known for righteousness.
It is a great disgrace to feel
distress at the injustice of
the turning of the wheels of fate. — Omar Khayyam

From the house of unbelief
to true religion
is a single breath;
From the world of doubt
to certainty
is a single breath;
Enjoy this precious single breath,
for the harvest
of our whole lives
is that same one breath. — Omar Khayyam

When I want to understand what is happening today or try to decide what will happen tomorrow, I look back. — Omar Khayyam

How sweet is mortal Sovranty!" - think some: Others - "How blest the Paradise to come!" Ah, take the Cash in hand and waive the Rest; Oh, the brave Music of a distant Drum! — Omar Khayyam

Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears
To-day of past Regrets and future Fears
To-morrow?
Why, To-morrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n Thousand Years. — Omar Khayyam

When you are so full of sorrow
that you can't walk, can't cry anymore,
think about the green foliage that sparkles after
the rain. When the daylight exhausts you, when
you hope a final night will cover the world,
think about the awakening of a young child. — Omar Khayyam

I was reading Omar Khayyam, Kahlil Gibran, Rumi, L. Ron Hubbard, all sorts of philosophy. Bebop cats are like that. Curious. I wanted to know about everything. — Quincy Jones

I hide my grief, just like the blessed birds hide themselves when they are preparing to die, my love. — Omar Khayyam

I despise the zeal of the devout, but I have never said that the One is two.
I am not one of those for whom faith is simply fear of judgement. How do I pray? I study a rose, I count the stars, I marvel at the beauty of the creation and how perfectly ordered it is, at man, the most beautiful work of the Creator, his brain thirsting for knowledge, his heart for love, and his senses, all his senses alert or gratified. — Amin Maalouf

My friend, let's not think of tomorrow, but let's enjoy this fleeting moment of life. — Omar Khayyam

The thoughtful soul to solitude retires. — Omar Khayyam

The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon Turns Ashes - or it prospers; and anon, Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Face, Lighting a little hour or two - is gone. — Omar Khayyam

Then said another -- "Surely not in vain
My Substance from the common Earth was ta'en,
That He who subtly wrought me into Shape
Should stamp me back to common Earth again. — Omar Khayyam

The Revelations of Devout and Learn'd Who rose before us, and as Prophets burn'd, Are all but Stories, which, awoke from Sleep They told their comrades, and to Sleep return'd. — Omar Khayyam

Hearts are like tapers, which at beauteous eyes Kindle a flame of love that never dies; And beauty is a flame, where hearts, like moths, Offer themselves a burning sacrifice. — Omar Khayyam

Heaven but the vision of fulfilled desire, and Hell the shadow from a soul on fire. — Omar Khayyam

With them the Seed of Wisdom did I sow, And with my own hand labour'd it to grow: And this was all the Harvest that I reap'd - "I came like Water, and like Wind I go. — Omar Khayyam

Alas, that Spring should vanish with the Rose! That Youths sweet-scented Manuscript should close! — Omar Khayyam