ادينى عمر و ارمينى البحر
Eddini omr we ermini elbahr
Translation: Give me life and throw me in the sea.
Meaning: Life or omr, in this context means pre-ordained longevity. So if it is pre-ordained that I have a long life, I don't care if I am thrown in the sea, for I know that nothing can cut my life short. The proverb is used to indicate belief in the inevitable, in the maktoub, or in fate - that whatever is written, somewhere in the timeless books, for us will come to happen. So be stoic in good and bad times, for the worse and the best have already been written, and your destiny is known in advance.
Source: ُEgyptian proverbs, (Al-Ahram Center For Translation and Publishing, 1986) by Ahmed Taymour Pasha,
Translated by: Nabil Shawkat
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