إِذَا مَا رُحْنَ يَمْشِينَ الْهُوَيْنَى كَمَا اضْطَرَبَتْ مُتُونُ الشَّارِبِينَا
When the women walk gently in the evening, their swaying resembles the movement of people made unsteady by drink.
Al-huwaynā means a gentle, unhurried gait. Kamā iḍṭarabat mutūnu al-shāribīnā describes a swaying movement in a vivid comparison.
The poem juxtaposes graceful movement with the women’s urgent demands in war. The description belongs to pre-Islamic poetic imagery, not a general moral appraisal.
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ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm: Challenge to Banū Bakr, Armour, Horses, and Protection (verses 75–91)
إِذَا مَا رُحْنَ يَمْشِينَ الْهُوَيْنَى كَمَا اضْطَرَبَتْ مُتُونُ الشَّارِبِينَا
When the women walk gently in the evening, their swaying resembles the movement of people made unsteady by drink.
Al-huwaynā means a gentle, unhurried gait. Kamā iḍṭarabat mutūnu al-shāribīnā describes a swaying movement in a vivid comparison.
The poem juxtaposes graceful movement with the women’s urgent demands in war. The description belongs to pre-Islamic poetic imagery, not a general moral appraisal.