ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm: Wine Gathering, Umm ʿAmr, Mortality and Parting (Verses 1–11)

1. ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm and the fifth Muʿallaqah

ʿAmr ibn Kulthūm al-Taghlibī was a celebrated pre-Islamic poet and a leader among the Taghlib tribe. The poem opens in a drinking assembly, while the wider ode is especially associated with tribal pride, political independence and strong rhetoric.

The introduction recalls the rivalry between Bakr and Taghlib, tension after the Basūs War, and reports involving the court of ʿAmr ibn Hind. These provide literary and social context; the poem’s boasts should not automatically be treated as literal historical reports.

2. Bakr, Taghlib and the court dispute

Bakr and Taghlib were prominent branches of Rabīʿah. Disputes after the Basūs War and subsequent arbitration shaped their intertribal political setting. The poet speaks as a defender of Taghlib’s standing.

The introduction describes meetings connected with ʿAmr ibn Hind and tribal representatives. This backdrop gives the ode its public voice, although the first eleven verses themselves present a gathering, dialogue with a woman, and a reflection on death.

3. The structure of verses 1–11

The opening does not remain on a single subject. It forms three connected scenes:
1. Verses 1–4: the drink, its colour and exaggerated claims about its effect.
2. Verses 5–7: a complaint to Umm ʿAmr about a withheld cup and references to Syrian places.
3. Verses 8–11: mortality, a departing woman, and a claim of courage in battle.

The order moves from sensory experience to public standing, then to the weightier questions of loyalty and death.

4. Verse 1: The opening invitation

أَلَا هُبِّي بِصَحْنِكِ فَاصْبَحِينَا وَلَا تُبْقِي خُمُورَ الْأَنْدَرِينَا
Rise with your large bowl and serve us a morning drink; leave none of the wines of al-Andarīn.

Alā calls for attention. Hubbī is a feminine singular imperative; ṣaḥn is a large bowl. Faṣbaḥīnā here means to serve a morning drink, not merely “to arrive at morning.”

Al-Andarīn is the geographical association used for a wine, linked in the commentary with the Syrian region. The opening combines direct address, urgency and a distinctively pre-Islamic social scene.

5. Verse 2: Colour and simile

مُشَعْشَعَةً كَأَنَّ الْحُصَّ فِيهَا إِذَا مَا الْمَاءُ خَالَطَهَا سَخِينَا
A wine mixed with water: when water blends with it, its appearance suggests the reddish tint associated with ḥuṣṣ.

Mushaʿshaʿah describes a mixed or diluted drink. The commentary explains ḥuṣṣ by reference to wars, a plant-based colouring substance. The simile evokes colour; it need not say that this substance was actually added.

Kaʾanna explicitly introduces comparison, while idhā mā locates the visible change at the moment when water is mixed in.

6. Verse 3: Diverted desire and softened resolve

تَجُورُ بِذِي اللُّبَانَةِ عَنْ هَوَاهُ إِذَا مَا ذَاقَهَا حَتَّى يَلِينَا
When a person tastes it, the drink turns him away from his pressing desire until his resolve softens.

Tajūru conveys deviation from a course; dhū l-lubānah is someone engrossed in a need or purpose, and hawāhu is that person’s inclination.

The drink is personified as an agent that diverts attention and softens resistance. Ḥattā yalīnā marks the endpoint of the effect. This is the poet’s depiction of drinking, not a general recommendation.

7. Verse 4: The miser and his money

تَرَى اللَّحِزَ الشَّحِيحَ إِذَا أُمِرَّتْ عَلَيْهِ لِمَالِهِ فِيهَا مُهِينَا
You see even a narrow, miserly man, once served the drink, treating his wealth lightly in that setting.

Al-laḥiz denotes a tight or ungenerous person, strengthened by al-shaḥīḥ, “miserly.” The commentary takes umirrat ʿalayhi as the drink being passed or served to him.

Muhīnan describes how he comes to regard his possessions. The previous verse treated personal desires; this one shifts to money, showing another aspect of the claimed effect.

8. Verse 5: Complaint to Umm ʿAmr

صَبَنْتِ الْكَأْسَ عَنَّا أُمَّ عَمْرٍو وَكَانَ الْكَأْسُ مَجْرَاهَا الْيَمِينَا
O Umm ʿAmr, you turned the cup away from us, although the customary course of the cup was to the right.

Ṣabanti means “you withheld” or “diverted”; al-kaʾs may denote the cup and its contents. Majrāhā means its usual course.

The speaker invokes the rightward circulation of the cup to protest being passed over. This is an appeal to a practice within the poetic gathering, not a general religious rule.

9. Verse 6: Standing among three companions

وَمَا شَرُّ الثَّلَاثَةِ أُمَّ عَمْرٍو بِصَاحِبِكِ الَّذِي لَا تَصْبَحِينَا
O Umm ʿAmr, the one you do not serve in the morning is not the least worthy among the three.

Mā … biṣāḥibiki is an emphatic negation with an additional bāʾ in the predicate. Sharr al-thalāthah means the least worthy of three companions.

The complaint therefore concerns standing and fairness in the group, not simply thirst. The poet’s claim belongs to the particular pre-Islamic gathering he describes.

10. Verse 7: Places and a travelled world

وَكَأْسٍ قَدْ شَرِبْتُ بِبَعْلَبَكٍّ وَأُخْرَى فِي دِمَشْقَ وَقَاصِرِينَا
I have drunk a cup in Baalbek and another in Damascus and Qāṣirīn.

Baʿlabakk, Dimashq and Qāṣirīn are place names. Their accumulation suggests the speaker’s travel and participation in widely separated gatherings.

The genitive in wa-kaʾsin can be read through the classical construction wāw rubba, carrying an implication such as “many a cup.” The places supply a geographic rhythm to the boast.

11. Verse 8: From revelry to mortality

وَإِنَّا سَوْفَ تُدْرِكُنَا الْمَنَايَا مُقَدَّرَةً لَنَا وَمُقَدَّرِينَا
Death will indeed overtake us: our allotted ends are determined, and we ourselves are bound by that destiny.

Innā emphasizes the claim, sawfa locates it in the future, and tudrikunā means “will overtake us.” Manāyā is the plural of maniyyah, a fated death.

The parallel phrases muqaddaratan lanā and muqaddarīnā emphasize inevitability. The mortality reflection sharply contrasts with the banquet scene that immediately precedes it.

12. Verse 9: A conversation before departure

قِفِي قَبْلَ التَّفَرُّقِ يَا ظَعِينَا نُخَبِّرْكِ الْيَقِينَ وَتُخْبِرِينَا
O departing woman, stop before we part, so that we may tell you the truth and you may speak plainly to us.

Qifī is a feminine imperative; ẓaʿīn is a travelling woman, often associated with a litter or caravan. Al-tafarruq means separation.

Nukhbirki … wa-tukhbirīnā asks for reciprocal disclosure. The poet seeks both to speak and to receive an answer, shifting from the inevitability of death to an immediate human relationship.

13. Verse 10: Severance or betrayal?

قِفِي نَسْأَلْكِ هَلْ أَحْدَثْتِ صَرْمًا لِوَشْكِ الْبَيْنِ أَمْ خُنْتِ الْأَمِينَا
Stop and answer: have you severed our bond because parting is near, or been unfaithful to one who trusted you?

Ṣarm means breaking a relationship, washk nearness or imminence, and bayn separation. Al-amīn means the trusted or faithful one.

The alternative question hal … am exposes uncertainty: was the relationship broken by impending departure, or by a betrayal of trust? The charge remains part of the speaker’s emotional interrogation.

14. Verse 11: Courage and a satisfied gaze

يَوْمَ كَرِيهَةٍ ضَرْبًا وَطَعْنًا أَقَرَّ بِهِ مَوَالِيكِ الْعُيُونَا
On a day of fierce battle, striking and thrusting in a manner that brings satisfaction to the eyes of your allies and kin.

Yawm karīhah describes a day of severe fighting. Ḍarban wa-ṭaʿnan uses verbal nouns for the acts of striking and thrusting. Mawālīki here means supporters, associates or kin, not necessarily slaves.

Aqarra l-ʿuyūn is an idiom for giving satisfaction or delight. The speaker joins loyalty and military prowess as part of his claim to standing in the relationship.

15. Imperatives and the feminine addressee

ExpressionFormFunction
هُبِّيFeminine singular imperativeRise / attend
فَاصْبَحِينَاFeminine imperative + nāServe us in the morning
قِفِيFeminine singular imperativeStop
لَا تُبْقِيProhibition + feminine imperfectDo not leave behind

The yāʾ of feminine address marks the addressee, while nā marks the group on whose behalf the speaker talks.

16. The mechanics of the ḥuṣṣ simile

In kaʾanna l-ḥuṣṣa fīhā, kaʾanna is a particle resembling a verb, al-ḥuṣṣa is its accusative subject, and fīhā expresses the predicate through an understood relation.

The thing compared is the mixed drink’s appearance; the comparison is the appearance of a colouring substance in it. The simile does not prove literal addition. Idhā mā l-māʾu khālaṭahā fixes the moment that gives rise to the visual impression.

17. Morphology of change and effect

WordRoot / FormMeaning
خَالَطَهَاkh-l-ṭ / Form IIIMixed with it
تَجُورُj-w-r / simple stemDeviates / diverts
يَلِينَاl-y-n / simple stemBecomes yielding
الشَّحِيحsh-ḥ-ḥ / adjectiveMiserly

The forms trace a progression: mixing → influence → softening. The drink is granted apparent agency, a feature of the speaker’s exaggeration.

18. How mā and idhā shape meaning

Idhā mā l-māʾu khālaṭahā and idhā mā dhāqahā use idhā to indicate when or under what condition an event happens. The accompanying mā may be treated as emphatic or additional, not necessarily as a relative pronoun.

In contrast, wa-mā sharru l-thalāthati biṣāḥibiki uses mā for negation. Syntax, not the isolated spelling, determines the function of the particle.

19. Custom as the basis of complaint

The key word in verse 5 is majrāhā, the cup’s customary route. With al-yamīnā, the poet argues not merely that he lacked a drink, but that the serving order was violated.

Verse 6 strengthens the complaint by denying that he is the least worthy of the three. A seemingly small incident becomes a claim about social standing. The poem’s sarcasm must be read in its own cultural context.

20. A geography of Syrian places

Arabic nameRole in the passage
الْأَنْدَرِينAssociation of the wine
بَعْلَبَكّSetting of a former gathering
دِمَشْقAnother named gathering place
قَاصِرِينAn additional place name

The sequence creates an effect of extent and multiplicity. It does not by itself establish a precise itinerary or dates for those journeys.

21. Syntax of the mortality statement

In innā sawfa tudrikunā l-manāyā, inna provides emphasis, nā is its subject, and the verbal clause forms its predicate. Al-manāyā is the subject of tudriku; the attached nā is the object.

Muqaddaratan lanā wa-muqaddarīnā sets up a parallel relation between allotted deaths and humans subject to the same decree. The rhetoric doubles the sense of inevitability.

22. Grammar of the requested dialogue

In qifī qabla l-tafarruq, qifī is an imperative and qabla an adverbial expression annexed to al-tafarruq. Yā ẓaʿīnā is direct address to a woman.

Nukhbirki … wa-tukhbirīnā presents a mutual exchange. The alternation between a collective speaker and a feminine addressee turns public speech into a more personal conversation.

23. Two questions and a closing idiom

Hal aḥdathti ṣarman … am khunti l-amīnā poses two possible explanations for a broken bond: imminent departure or breach of trust. Hal opens the question, while am introduces its alternative.

The next verse uses aqarra l-ʿuyūnā, literally “to cool the eyes,” as an idiom for bringing satisfaction. The emotional questioning turns into a boast about courage; it is not merely a battle report.

24. Key contrasts and rhetorical forms

DevicePlace / effect
Imperative + addressAlā hubbī; urgency
SimileKaʾanna l-ḥuṣṣ; visual colour
ContrastMiser and wealth; changed behaviour
Emphatic negationMā … biṣāḥibiki; self-regard
Repeated commandQifī, qifī; delay parting
IdiomAqarra l-ʿuyūn; satisfaction

The poet creates public claims through small, concrete scenes and compact expressions rather than through abstract declarations alone.

25. How the opening section holds together

Verses 1–4 foreground sensory influence. Verses 5–7 turn the gathering into a question of status and equal treatment. Verse 8 abruptly introduces mortality. Verses 9–11 shift to loyalty, impending separation and the claim to military standing.

This movement is characteristic of the pre-Islamic ode: scene, memory, dialogue, reflection and boasting may share one metrical sequence. Reading each transition carefully prevents one theme from being imposed on the whole opening.