LessonsImruʾ al-Qays: A Guarded Tent, the Pleiades, Objection, and Dunes (Verses 23–29)Quiz

فَلَمَّا أَجَزْنَا سَاحَةَ الْحَيِّ وَانْتَحَى
بِنَا بَطْنُ خَبْتٍ ذِي حِقَافٍ عَقَنْقَلِ
“When we had crossed the open space of the encampment and turned toward the hollow of a sandy stretch with great, intricate dunes, the setting changed.”

Sāḥata al-ḥayy is the open ground of the tribal settlement. Baṭnu khabt evokes a low-lying sandy stretch; ḥiqāf are dunes and ʿaqanqal characterizes substantial, densely formed sand hills.

This verse creates a spatial turning point: from tent, guards, and settlement to comparatively secluded sand. The next verse continues the episode in that setting, so the landscape is not an unrelated descriptive aside.

Opening interactive controls...

Verse 29: beyond the settlement to the sandy hollow

Imruʾ al-Qays: A Guarded Tent, the Pleiades, Objection, and Dunes (Verses 23–29)

فَلَمَّا أَجَزْنَا سَاحَةَ الْحَيِّ وَانْتَحَى
بِنَا بَطْنُ خَبْتٍ ذِي حِقَافٍ عَقَنْقَلِ
“When we had crossed the open space of the encampment and turned toward the hollow of a sandy stretch with great, intricate dunes, the setting changed.”

Sāḥata al-ḥayy is the open ground of the tribal settlement. Baṭnu khabt evokes a low-lying sandy stretch; ḥiqāf are dunes and ʿaqanqal characterizes substantial, densely formed sand hills.

This verse creates a spatial turning point: from tent, guards, and settlement to comparatively secluded sand. The next verse continues the episode in that setting, so the landscape is not an unrelated descriptive aside.