Lessonsal-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah: Courtroom Advocacy, Three Proofs and Battle Similes (verses 47–55)Quiz

وَصَبِيتٍ مِنَ الْعَوَاتِكِ لَا تَنْسَاهُ إِلَّا مُبَيِّضَةٌ رَعْلَاءُ
Meaning: And there was a company of noble people whose presence, the poet implies, could be matched only by a great white-clad force.

Ṣabīt denotes a group. The commentary explains al-ʿawātik as noble young women. Mubayyaḍah raʿlāʾ can evoke an extensive white-armoured formation; the commentary also records the image of long pale swords.

The archaic terms admit interpretive variation. Rather than forcing one rigid pictorial detail, the central contrast is between a respected group and the conspicuous, formidable military force associated with it.

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Verse 51: Noble women and the white-clad host

al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah: Courtroom Advocacy, Three Proofs and Battle Similes (verses 47–55)

وَصَبِيتٍ مِنَ الْعَوَاتِكِ لَا تَنْسَاهُ إِلَّا مُبَيِّضَةٌ رَعْلَاءُ
Meaning: And there was a company of noble people whose presence, the poet implies, could be matched only by a great white-clad force.

Ṣabīt denotes a group. The commentary explains al-ʿawātik as noble young women. Mubayyaḍah raʿlāʾ can evoke an extensive white-armoured formation; the commentary also records the image of long pale swords.

The archaic terms admit interpretive variation. Rather than forcing one rigid pictorial detail, the central contrast is between a respected group and the conspicuous, formidable military force associated with it.