«اِلْوَجَعْ سَاعَهْ وِالْعَجَبْ طَوِيلْ»

Read with ʿajab, wonder or delight, as its final word, the saying sets the shortness of suffering against the length of what follows. A sharp pain soon passes, but the pleasure of being well again lasts far longer, so a brief hardship is worth bearing for the good that comes after it.

With the final word read instead as ʿujb, admiration, the line fits pain endured for beauty, such as piercing an ear to hang an earring. The sting fades quickly, while the pleasure of admiring the ornament endures.

Fits a short, unpleasant ordeal that yields a lasting good: the pain of an illness or injury that gives way to long-enjoyed health, or, under the admiration reading, the small hurt of adorning oneself, such as ear piercing, for an ornament admired long afterward.