More futile than grasping water. أَخْيَبُ مِنَ القَابِضِ عَلَى المَاء.

أَخْيَبُ مِنَ القَابِضِ عَلَى المَاء.
هذا مأخوذ من قول الشاعر:
وَمَا أنْسَ مِنْ أشْيَاءَ لاَ أَنْسَ قَوْلَها ... تَقَدَّمْ فَشَيِّعْنَا إلى ضَحْوَةِ الْغَدِ
فأصْبَحْت مِمَّا كَانَ بَيْنِي وبَيْنَهَا ... سِوَى ذِكْرِهَا كَالْقَابِضِ الْمَاءَ بِالْيَدِ
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More futile than grasping water.
This is taken from the poet's words:
And there are things I will never forget, words she spoke... Advance, and let us see each other off to the morning of tomorrow.
And I became, because of what transpired between us... nothing but the memory of her, like one grasping water in his hand.
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المثل العربي «أَخْيَبُ مِنَ القَابِضِ عَلَى المَاءِ» يُضرب لمن يسعى إلى أمر يستحيل الاحتفاظ به أو ينتهي جهده إلى لا شيء، فيخرج خائبًا كما أن الماء لا يُمسك باليد.
ومن أقرب المقابلات في الثقافة الإنجليزية: Like trying to hold water in your hands.
«كمن يحاول الإمساك بالماء بيديه.»
وهو أقرب صورةً ومعنىً، وإن كان تعبيرًا أكثر منه مثلًا شائعًا.
To grasp at water.
«يحاول الإمساك بالماء.»
أي يسعى إلى المستحيل أو إلى ما لا يُدرك.
To clutch at straws.
«يتشبث بالقش.»
يضرب لمن يتعلق بأمل واهٍ أو وسيلة لا تنفع.
Like chasing the wind.
«كمن يطارد الريح.»
أي يبذل جهدًا عبثًا.
Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands.
«كمن يحاول الإمساك بالدخان بيديه العاريتين.»
وهو تعبير حديث يصور استحالة تحقيق المراد.
وأقرب مقابل من حيث المعنى والبلاغة هو:
Like trying to hold water in your hands.
وللدلالة على الخيبة الناتجة عن السعي وراء ما لا يُنال، يمكن أيضًا أن يقال:
He came away empty-handed, like someone trying to hold water in his hands.
وهو قريب جدًا من الصورة الشعرية العربية: «كالقابض الماء باليد».
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The Arabic proverb "More futile than grasping water" is used to describe someone striving for something impossible to hold onto, or whose efforts ultimately prove fruitless, leaving them disappointed, just as water cannot be grasped.
A similar expression in English is:
"Like trying to hold water in your hands."
This is closer in imagery and meaning, though more of an expression than a common proverb.
"To grasp at water."
Meaning, striving for the impossible or the unattainable.
"To clutch at straws."
This is used to describe someone clinging to a flimsy hope or a futile means.
"Like chasing the wind."
Meaning, making a futile effort.
"Like trying to catch smoke with your bare hands."
This is a modern expression depicting the impossibility of achieving one's goal. The closest equivalent in meaning and rhetoric is:
Like trying to hold water in your hands.
To express the disappointment resulting from striving for the unattainable, one can also say:
He came away empty-handed, like someone trying to hold water in his hands.
This is very close to the Arabic poetic image: “like trying to hold water in one’s hands.”