LessonsLabīd ibn Rabīʿah: Cold-Morning Generosity, Defence and a Swift Horse (Verses 62–69)Quiz

The preceding passage recalled Labīd’s social life and nocturnal gatherings. Wa-ghadāta rīḥin shifts the scene to a bitterly cold morning; the poet then presents himself protecting the tribe on an exceptionally agile horse.

Verses 62–69 interweave assistance to people in severe weather with vigilance and defence on horseback. Night, a high lookout, a palm trunk, an ostrich and a dove gradually develop a vivid portrait of speed and resolve.

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Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: Cold-Morning Generosity, Defence and a Swift Horse (Verses 62–69)

8 complete Arabic verses, 25 bilingual teaching slides and 30 explanatory quiz questions Read the bilingual lesson for Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: Cold-Morning Generosity, Defence and a Swift Horse (Verses 62–69) and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. From the cold wind to a racing horse

The preceding passage recalled Labīd’s social life and nocturnal gatherings. Wa-ghadāta rīḥin shifts the scene to a bitterly cold morning; the poet then presents himself protecting the tribe on an exceptionally agile horse.

Verses 62–69 interweave assistance to people in severe weather with vigilance and defence on horseback. Night, a high lookout, a palm trunk, an ostrich and a dove gradually develop a vivid portrait of speed and resolve.

2. Verse 62: Cold wind and assistance

وَغَدَاةَ رِيحٍ قَدْ وَزَعْتُ وَقَرَّةٍ قَدْ أَصْبَحَتْ يَدُ الشَّمَالِ زِمَامَهَا
On many a morning of biting wind and cold, when the north wind seemed to hold the day by its reins, I countered its harshness by helping others.

Wazaʿtu expresses restraining or checking. The commentary understands his response to the bitter weather as feeding and assisting people, not literally controlling the wind. Yadu al-shamāli zimāmahā personifies the north wind as a hand holding reins.

3. Ghadāh, qirrah and shamāl

ArabicMeaningغَدَاةEarly morningرِيحWindقَرَّةSevere coldالشَّمَالNorth windزِمَامRein used to control a mount

The verse blends weather vocabulary with riding vocabulary. Cold weather becomes almost animate, the north wind receiving a ‘hand’ and the morning a ‘rein’ in the poet’s description.

4. The north wind holding reins: personification

Yadu al-shamāl attributes a ‘hand’ to the north wind; zimāmahā brings the image of a mount controlled by reins into the weather scene. This combines personification with metaphor.

Rather than merely stating that the wind is strong, the poem gives the weather a dynamic physical image. The harshness of the morning contrasts with the human response of practical generosity.

5. Verse 63: Defending the tribe on horseback

وَلَقَدْ حَمَيْتُ الْحَيَّ تَحْمِلُ شَكَّتِي فُرُطٌ وَشَّاحِي إِذْ غَدَوْتُ لِجَامُهَا
I protected my tribe while a swift horse bore my fighting equipment; as I rode out, its bridle seemed to serve as my sash.

Al-ḥayy refers to the tribe or its people, while shakkatī denotes fighting equipment. Furuṭ describes a swift horse that moves ahead. The apparent interchange of sash and bridle emphasizes the rider’s intimacy with the mount and readiness for action.

6. Al-ḥayy, al-shakkah and al-lijām

TermDomainMeaningالْحَيّSocietyTribal communityشَكَّتِيCombatMy equipment or armsاللِّجَامRidingBridle or bitوِشَاحClothingShoulder or chest sash

The verse compresses tribe, weaponry, mount and clothing into one line. Their combination makes the speaker’s preparedness vivid without a prolonged narrative.

7. Ḥamaytu and taḥmilu: aspect and time

Ḥamaytu is first-person past from ḥ-m-y: ‘I protected.’ Taḥmilu is imperfect from ḥ-m-l: ‘it carries,’ describing the continuing state of the mount within a past episode.

Wa-laqad emphasizes the recollection, while idh ghadawtu locates the action at departure. Alternating verb forms conveys the event together with its unfolding setting.

8. Verse 64: On a dusty lookout

فَعَلَوْتُ مُرْتَقَبًا عَلَى ذِي هَبْوَةٍ حَرْجٍ إِلَى أَعْلَامِهِنَّ قَتَامُهَا
Then I climbed to a lookout on a high, difficult, dust-raising rise, with dust extending up toward its landmarks.

Murtaqab is a lookout; dhī habwah describes a dusty rise, and aʿlām are prominent markers or heights. The image conveys a tactical vantage point rather than a general scenic mountain description.

9. Murtaqab and habwah: constructing the viewpoint

Murtaqab belongs to the root r-q-b, associated with watching and keeping lookout. Habwah involves rising dust, while qatām is thick airborne dust.

Height, difficulty and dust establish a setting where keeping watch matters. This prepares for the following verse, where fading light and darkness change the conditions of movement.

10. Verse 65: Night conceals vulnerable passes

حَتَّى إِذَا أَلْقَتْ يَدًا فِي كَافِرٍ وَأَجَنَّ عَوْرَاتِ الثُّغُورِ ظَلَامُهَا
Until the sun, as though, placed a hand under a covering, and the night’s darkness concealed the exposed places along the frontier.

Kāfir here carries the lexical sense of a covering—darkness—not the later religious designation ‘unbeliever.’ Ajanna also means to cover or conceal. ʿAwrāt al-thughūr refers to exposed or vulnerable gaps in frontier positions.

11. Kāfir, ajanna, ʿawrāt: contextual meanings

TermSense in this verseكَافِرDarkness that coversأَجَنَّHe/it concealedعَوْرَاتExposed or vulnerable gapsالثُّغُورFrontier passes or posts

A term’s common sense in religious discourse does not override its contextual meaning in an older poem. Here all these terms relate to darkness and defensive positions.

12. Verse 66: The tall palm-trunk simile

أَسْهَلْتُ وَانْتَصَبَتْ كَجِذْعِ مُنِيفَةٍ جَرْدَاءَ يَحْصُرُ دُونَهَا جُرَّامُهَا
I descended to level ground, while the mare raised her neck like the trunk of a tall, bare palm beyond the reach of date-gatherers.

Ashaltu describes the rider’s descent to level ground. Intaṣabat refers to the mare raising her neck. Ka-jidhʿi munīfatin jardāʾa compares that elevated neck with a tall, branchless palm trunk. Jurrāmuhā are date-gatherers; their inability to reach it heightens the image of stature.

13. Ka-jidhʿi munīfah: elements of the simile

ElementIn the verseSubjectThe mare’s raised neckComparisonA high, stripped palm trunkMarkerka- (‘like’)Shared qualityHeight and uprightness

The comparison does not principally concern sweet dates or fruitfulness. Its focus is the palm’s height and straightness. The date-gatherers’ inability to reach it intensifies the effect.

14. Height, nightfall and descent: three movements

Verses 64–66 make a compact spatial and temporal sequence:
1. Faʿalawtu murtaqaban — he climbs to a high lookout.
2. Ajanna ... ẓalāmuhā — darkness hides exposed frontier positions.
3. Ashaltu wa-ntaṣabat — the rider descends to level ground while the mare lifts her neck.

Ignoring the sequence might make the lookout and level ground seem contradictory, whereas the passage of time links them.

15. Verse 67: Ostrich speed and an agile horse

رَفَّعْتُهَا طَرْدَ النَّعَامِ وَشَلَّهُ حَتَّى إِذَا سَخِنَتْ وَخَفَّ عِظَامُهَا
I drove her at a pace like an ostrich fleeing at speed, until she had warmed up and the movement of her frame grew light and rapid.

Ṭard al-naʿām supplies the model of an ostrich’s fast run. Raffaʿtuhā conveys urging the mount into vigorous motion. Sakhinat refers to the horse warming with exertion; khaffa ʿiẓāmuhā vividly expresses lighter, nimbler movement rather than a literal change in bone weight.

16. Ṭard al-naʿām: why the ostrich?

The ostrich is a large yet remarkably fast-running bird. Al-naʿām therefore gives a recognizable image of rapid ground movement rather than merely naming an animal.

Ṭard and shall belong to pursuit and driving. The next clauses describe the horse warming with effort and seeming lighter in gait, carrying the image from the initial comparison into its physical result.

17. Sakhinat and khaffa: consequences of movement

Sakhinat is feminine singular past from s-kh-n, ‘she grew warm.’ Khaffa is masculine singular past from kh-f-f, with ʿiẓāmuhā (her bones) as its following subject; a non-human plural can take singular verbal agreement.

Khaffa ʿiẓāmuhā need not mean that bones literally lost mass. It expresses the sensation of increasingly free, nimble motion as the mount warms to its pace.

18. Verse 68: Saddle, neck and girth

قَلِقَتْ رِحَالَتُهَا وَأَسْبَلَ نَحْرُهَا وَابْتَلَّ مِنْ زَبَدِ الْحَمِيمِ حِزَامُهَا
Her saddle began to shift, sweat ran down her neck, and her girth was soaked with the froth of hot perspiration.

Riḥālah denotes riding gear or saddle, while ḥizām is the girth around the body. Asbala naḥruhā evokes sweat streaming from the neck. Here zabad al-ḥamīm concerns frothy, heated perspiration, not drinking water.

19. Three visible signs of exertion

ExpressionVisible detailQaliqat riḥālatuhāThe saddle shifts with rapid runningAsbala naḥruhāSweat streams down the neckIbtalla ... ḥizāmuhāThe girth becomes soaked with frothy sweat

None gives a numerical speed. Instead the mount’s sustained exertion is shown through visible consequences, allowing the reader to infer how hard and fast it has travelled.

20. Qaliqat, asbala, ibtalla: verb and subject

In qaliqat riḥālatuhā, the feminine past verb takes ‘her saddle’ as subject. In asbala naḥruhā, asbala is a form IV past verb with ‘her neck’ as subject. In ibtalla ... ḥizāmuhā, ibtalla is from form VIII and ‘her girth’ is the subject.

Three verbs describe three different visible effects upon one moving horse. Identifying their subjects prevents a translation from confusing the riding gear, neck and strap.

21. Verse 69: The thirsty dove and the horse’s surge

تَرْقَى وَتَطْعَنُ فِي الْعِنَانِ وَتَنْتَحِي وِرْدَ الْحَمَامَةِ إِذْ أَجَدَّ حَمَامُهَا
She lifts her neck, presses against the reins and drives forward like a dove hastening toward water when its need to drink becomes urgent.

Tarqā evokes raising the neck, taṭʿanu fī al-ʿinān pressing into the reins, and tantaḥī turning decisively toward a direction. Wird al-ḥamāmah is the dove’s approach to water: ḥamāmah denotes a bird here, not death.

22. Wird al-ḥamāmah: physical scene and effect

Wird refers to approaching water to drink. Ḥamāmah is a dove, while ajadda conveys earnest or energetic action.

A thirsty dove’s direct motion to water illuminates the horse’s sudden, committed surge. The creatures need not share size or shape: the point of the comparison is their quick, purposeful movement.

23. Three imperfect verbs create motion

Tarqā — rises or lifts; root r-q-y.
Taṭʿanu — presses or thrusts; root ṭ-ʿ-n.
Tantaḥī — turns or aims toward; root n-ḥ-w, form VIII.

The three imperfect verbs animate continuous motion. Each adds a different physical phase: rising, thrusting at the reins, then making for a chosen direction.

24. Weather, defence and speed: a comparison

VerseImageEffect62North wind holding reinsThe grip of harsh weather66A tall palm trunkUpright stature67Running ostrichSwift gait69A thirsty dovePurposeful forward movement

These four images alternately personify natural force and clarify a human or animal quality through another directly observed physical scene.

25. The eight-verse sequence and its next turn

62 Claim of aid and generosity in severe cold.
63–66 Tribal defence, high lookout, nightfall and a palm-trunk simile.
67–69 The racing horse, growing warmth, sweat and a dove-in-flight comparison.

The sequence builds the speaker’s identity through generosity, defence and agility. The next verse, Wa-kathīratin ghurabāʾuhā majhūlah, turns toward another tribal and social setting involving guests, rivalry and honour.

Practice questions

Question 1

What time does ghadāh denote?

  • Early morning
  • High noon
  • Late afternoon
  • Midnight

Question 2

What does qirrah indicate in verse 62?

  • Cool evening breeze
  • Intense cold
  • Continuous rain
  • Fragrance in the air

Question 3

Which wind is al-shamāl?

  • The south wind
  • A sea breeze
  • The north wind
  • The east wind

Question 4

What is the main rhetorical feature of yadu al-shamāli zimāmahā?

  • Comparing wind to a mountain
  • Naming the weather as a caravan stop
  • Swearing a formal oath
  • Personifying the north wind as holding reins

Question 5

How does the commentary explain the poet’s response to cold?

  • By assisting and feeding people
  • By literally tying up the wind
  • By selling his mount and abandoning travel
  • By setting the mountains alight

Question 6

What is the grammatical form of wazaʿtu?

  • Active participle
  • First-person singular perfect verb
  • First-person plural imperfect
  • Second-person singular imperative

Question 7

What does zimām mean?

  • Metal armour
  • Airborne dust
  • Rein or controlling cord
  • Saddle cushion

Question 8

What does al-ḥayy signify in ḥamaytu al-ḥayya?

  • One house alone
  • The horse’s breath
  • A travel destination
  • The tribal community

Question 9

What is shakkatī in verse 63?

  • My arms and fighting equipment
  • My shepherd’s staff
  • My food vessel
  • My saddle girth

Question 10

What characteristic does furuṭ express of the horse?

  • Being a pack animal only
  • Swiftness and forward motion
  • Slow and delayed movement
  • Sleeping deeply

Question 11

What does wa-shāḥī ... lijāmuhā convey figuratively?

  • Calculating saddle cost
  • The horse’s illness
  • Riderly readiness and closeness to the bridle
  • Selling the horse

Question 12

How do ḥamaytu and taḥmilu differ grammatically?

  • Both are imperatives
  • First is a participle, second past
  • Both are verbal nouns
  • First perfect, second imperfect

Question 13

What is murtaqab in verse 64?

  • An elevated lookout
  • A hunting dog
  • A rug on sand
  • A cold spring

Question 14

What do habwah and qatām share?

  • Animal cries
  • Dust and airborne obscurity
  • Sweet rainwater
  • Green pasture

Question 15

What does aʿlāmihinna refer to in the scene?

  • Camel calves
  • Caravan tents
  • Landmarks or prominent heights
  • Personal names

Question 16

What does kāfir mean in this poetic context?

  • A person’s religious designation
  • Bright sunshine
  • A warhorse
  • The covering darkness of night

Question 17

What are ʿawrāt al-thughūr?

  • Vulnerable gaps in frontier positions
  • Deep forest pools
  • Palm fruits
  • Bird nests

Question 18

What does ajanna describe?

  • A tree bearing fruit
  • Darkness concealing something
  • A horse drinking water
  • An ostrich running

Question 19

What movement is expressed by ashaltu?

  • Climbing from plain to peak
  • Leaving the caravan to sleep
  • Descending to level ground
  • Crossing a river

Question 20

What is the point of the palm-trunk comparison?

  • Sweetness of dates
  • Shade of the tree
  • Ease of gathering dates
  • Height and uprightness

Question 21

Who are jurrāmuhā?

  • Date gatherers
  • Defending soldiers
  • Camel drivers
  • Singers

Question 22

What is the horse compared with in ṭard al-naʿām?

  • Cold north wind
  • An ostrich’s swift running
  • A thirsty dove’s flight
  • Height of a palm

Question 23

How should khaffa ʿiẓāmuhā be understood?

  • The horse became ill
  • The horse stopped running
  • The horse’s movement became nimble
  • Its bones lost literal mass

Question 24

What is shown by qaliqat riḥālatuhā?

  • The horse pausing at water
  • The bridle breaking
  • The horse roaring
  • The saddle shifting as the horse runs

Question 25

What is zabad al-ḥamīm in verse 68?

  • Hot, frothy perspiration
  • Sweet drinking water
  • Camel milk
  • Mist in cold weather

Question 26

What piece of equipment is a ḥizām?

  • A battle shield
  • A girth strap around the body
  • A bit in the mouth
  • Rider’s helmet

Question 27

What does tarqā describe in verse 69?

  • The rider pitching a tent
  • A bird building a nest
  • The mount lifting its neck
  • The mount sitting down

Question 28

What does taṭʿanu fī al-ʿinān mean?

  • Striking with a sword
  • Throwing a spear into water
  • Pulling tent ropes
  • The mount pressing into the reins

Question 29

Why does the dove hurry in wird al-ḥamāmah?

  • To reach drinking water
  • To fight in battle
  • To gather dates
  • To conceal darkness

Question 30

Which sequence accurately describes verses 62–69?

  • Peace oath, then blood-money payments
  • Cold-weather aid, defence and lookout, then racing
  • Wine trader, war, then river
  • Hunting dogs, then grief for a calf

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