وَكَأَنَّ فَارَةَ تَاجِرٍ بِقَسِيمَةٍ سَبَقَتْ عَوَارِضَهَا إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْفَمِ
It is as though the musk of a merchant reaches you from the lovely woman’s mouth even before her side teeth come into view.
Fārat tājir alludes to a small musk pouch and the rich perfume it contains. The poet compares the beloved’s breath to valued musk: scent reaches the observer before the visual details of the mouth.
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ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād: Fragrance, Rain-fed Meadow and Sensory Similes (verses 12–19)
وَكَأَنَّ فَارَةَ تَاجِرٍ بِقَسِيمَةٍ سَبَقَتْ عَوَارِضَهَا إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْفَمِ
It is as though the musk of a merchant reaches you from the lovely woman’s mouth even before her side teeth come into view.
Fārat tājir alludes to a small musk pouch and the rich perfume it contains. The poet compares the beloved’s breath to valued musk: scent reaches the observer before the visual details of the mouth.