LessonsImruʾ al-Qays: Dialogue in ʿUnayzah’s Litter, Boasting, and an Oath (Verses 13–18)Quiz

فَمِثْلِكِ حُبْلَى قَدْ طَرَقْتُ وَمُرْضِعٍ
فَأَلْهَيْتُهَا عَنْ ذِي تَمَائِمَ مُحْوِلِ
Many a woman like you, pregnant or nursing, have I visited by night; I distracted her even from her child, wearing amulets and approximately a year old.

Ḥublā means a pregnant woman; murḍiʿ is a nursing woman. Ṭaraqtu here conveys visiting at night. Addressing his beloved, the poet boasts of earlier romantic encounters in exaggerated, provocative language.

The verse presents the poetic speaker’s self-description. Such claims in classical erotic boasting are literary utterances; they should not automatically be treated as externally verified incidents or as examples of conduct to endorse.

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Verse 16: a boast about earlier relationships

Imruʾ al-Qays: Dialogue in ʿUnayzah’s Litter, Boasting, and an Oath (Verses 13–18)

فَمِثْلِكِ حُبْلَى قَدْ طَرَقْتُ وَمُرْضِعٍ
فَأَلْهَيْتُهَا عَنْ ذِي تَمَائِمَ مُحْوِلِ
Many a woman like you, pregnant or nursing, have I visited by night; I distracted her even from her child, wearing amulets and approximately a year old.

Ḥublā means a pregnant woman; murḍiʿ is a nursing woman. Ṭaraqtu here conveys visiting at night. Addressing his beloved, the poet boasts of earlier romantic encounters in exaggerated, provocative language.

The verse presents the poetic speaker’s self-description. Such claims in classical erotic boasting are literary utterances; they should not automatically be treated as externally verified incidents or as examples of conduct to endorse.