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

وَيَوْمًا عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْكَثِيبِ تَعَذَّرَتْ
عَلَيَّ وَآلَتْ حَلْفَةً لَمْ تَحَلَّلِ
And on another day, upon the crest of a sand dune, she held herself aloof from me and swore a firm oath without qualifying or releasing herself from it.

Al-kathīb is a dune formed by heaped sand; ʿalā ẓahri al-kathīb sets the scene on its upper ridge. Taʿadhdharat ʿalayya here means that she resisted, made herself difficult to approach, or refused the poet’s advances.

Wa-ālat ḥalfatan explicitly describes an oath. Lam taḥallal emphasizes that she did not attach a releasing qualification or exception. The mood differs from the playful dialogue of the preceding scene.

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Verse 18: resistance and an oath on a dune

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

وَيَوْمًا عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْكَثِيبِ تَعَذَّرَتْ
عَلَيَّ وَآلَتْ حَلْفَةً لَمْ تَحَلَّلِ
And on another day, upon the crest of a sand dune, she held herself aloof from me and swore a firm oath without qualifying or releasing herself from it.

Al-kathīb is a dune formed by heaped sand; ʿalā ẓahri al-kathīb sets the scene on its upper ridge. Taʿadhdharat ʿalayya here means that she resisted, made herself difficult to approach, or refused the poet’s advances.

Wa-ālat ḥalfatan explicitly describes an oath. Lam taḥallal emphasizes that she did not attach a releasing qualification or exception. The mood differs from the playful dialogue of the preceding scene.