Lessonsal-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah: Failed Refuge, Royal Power, Tribal Assembly and Mirage (verses 37–46)Quiz

كَتَكَالِيفِ قَوْمِنَا إِذْ غَزَا الْمُنْذِرُ هَلْ نَحْنُ لِابْنِ هِنْدٍ رِعَاءُ
Meaning: The poet recalls the burdens endured by his people when al-Mundhir raided, then asks scornfully whether they are merely herdsmen or servants of Ibn Hind.

Takālīf are hardships or burdens; riʿāʾ means herdsmen. The question hal naḥnu ... riʿāʾ is rhetorical: it rejects the suggestion that the tribe exists merely to serve Ibn Hind.

The names al-Mundhir and Ibn Hind belong to the historical setting. Recollection of a raid is used to assert tribal independence, not to supply a neutral chronicle of the encounter.

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Verse 40: Al-Mundhir and Ibn Hind

al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah: Failed Refuge, Royal Power, Tribal Assembly and Mirage (verses 37–46)

كَتَكَالِيفِ قَوْمِنَا إِذْ غَزَا الْمُنْذِرُ هَلْ نَحْنُ لِابْنِ هِنْدٍ رِعَاءُ
Meaning: The poet recalls the burdens endured by his people when al-Mundhir raided, then asks scornfully whether they are merely herdsmen or servants of Ibn Hind.

Takālīf are hardships or burdens; riʿāʾ means herdsmen. The question hal naḥnu ... riʿāʾ is rhetorical: it rejects the suggestion that the tribe exists merely to serve Ibn Hind.

The names al-Mundhir and Ibn Hind belong to the historical setting. Recollection of a raid is used to assert tribal independence, not to supply a neutral chronicle of the encounter.