إِذَا مَا الْمَلِكُ سَامَ النَّاسَ خَسْفًا
When the ruler inflicts humiliation upon people.
أَبَيْنَا أَنْ نُقِرَّ الذُّلَّ فِينَا
We refuse to accept abasement in our midst.
The contrast is between al-malik, royal authority, and the tribe’s collective first person. Khasfan conveys strong humiliation or oppression.
Resistance to the ruler is another element in the poet’s assertion of communal independence.
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ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm: Tribal Pride, Independence and Closing Hyperbole (verses 92–103)
إِذَا مَا الْمَلِكُ سَامَ النَّاسَ خَسْفًا
When the ruler inflicts humiliation upon people.
أَبَيْنَا أَنْ نُقِرَّ الذُّلَّ فِينَا
We refuse to accept abasement in our midst.
The contrast is between al-malik, royal authority, and the tribe’s collective first person. Khasfan conveys strong humiliation or oppression.
Resistance to the ruler is another element in the poet’s assertion of communal independence.