مَلَأْنَا الْبَرَّ حَتَّى ضَاقَ عَنَّا وَمَاءَ الْبَحْرِ نَمْلَؤُهُ سَفِينَا
We have filled the land until it is too narrow for us, and we fill the sea with our ships.
Al-barr (land) and al-baḥr (sea) are paired to suggest reach in every direction. Ḍāqa ʿannā exaggerates the size of the tribe’s presence.
Namlaʾuhu safīnā depicts ships so numerous as to fill the water. The line is spatial hyperbole, not a verifiable count of actual vessels or territories.
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ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm: Tribal Pride, Independence and Closing Hyperbole (verses 92–103)
مَلَأْنَا الْبَرَّ حَتَّى ضَاقَ عَنَّا وَمَاءَ الْبَحْرِ نَمْلَؤُهُ سَفِينَا
We have filled the land until it is too narrow for us, and we fill the sea with our ships.
Al-barr (land) and al-baḥr (sea) are paired to suggest reach in every direction. Ḍāqa ʿannā exaggerates the size of the tribe’s presence.
Namlaʾuhu safīnā depicts ships so numerous as to fill the water. The line is spatial hyperbole, not a verifiable count of actual vessels or territories.