إِنْ تُغْدِفِي دُونِي الْقِنَاعَ فَإِنَّنِي طَبٌّ بِأَخْذِ الْفَارِسِ الْمُسْتَلْئِمِ
Even if you lower the veil before me, I am skilled in seizing an armoured horseman.
In tugh-difī is a condition addressed to a woman; al-qināʿ is the veil and al-mustalʾim an armoured rider. The turn from the mount’s physical qualities to the beloved and the poet’s claimed skill marks the start of his self-praise.
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ʿAntarah ibn Shaddād: She-Camel, Conduct, Generosity and Martial Boasting (verses 31–42)
إِنْ تُغْدِفِي دُونِي الْقِنَاعَ فَإِنَّنِي طَبٌّ بِأَخْذِ الْفَارِسِ الْمُسْتَلْئِمِ
Even if you lower the veil before me, I am skilled in seizing an armoured horseman.
In tugh-difī is a condition addressed to a woman; al-qināʿ is the veil and al-mustalʾim an armoured rider. The turn from the mount’s physical qualities to the beloved and the poet’s claimed skill marks the start of his self-praise.