إِذْ يَتَّقُونَ بِيَ الْأَسِنَّةَ لَمْ أَحِمْ عَنْهَا وَلَكِنِّي تَضَايَقَ مُقْدَمِي
When others used me as a shield against spearpoints, I did not recoil; rather, the space for my advance became constricted.
Yattaqūna biya means they shelter behind or through the speaker. Lam aḥim denies turning away; wa-lākinnī then corrects a possible inference. His advance is physically obstructed, not abandoned by choice—an instance of explaining an apparent limitation without surrendering honour.
Opening interactive controls...
ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād: Love, Ingratitude, the Wounded Horse and Final Boast (verses 57–75)
إِذْ يَتَّقُونَ بِيَ الْأَسِنَّةَ لَمْ أَحِمْ عَنْهَا وَلَكِنِّي تَضَايَقَ مُقْدَمِي
When others used me as a shield against spearpoints, I did not recoil; rather, the space for my advance became constricted.
Yattaqūna biya means they shelter behind or through the speaker. Lam aḥim denies turning away; wa-lākinnī then corrects a possible inference. His advance is physically obstructed, not abandoned by choice—an instance of explaining an apparent limitation without surrendering honour.