10 original couplets, 25 bilingual teaching slides and 30 explanatory questions Read the bilingual lesson for Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: Deserted Dwellings, Seasons, Wildlife and Traces of the Past (Verses 1–10) and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. Labīd ibn Rabīʿah and the fourth Muʿallaqah
Labīd ibn Rabīʿah al-ʿĀmirī, associated with Banū ʿĀmir, is a leading figure of early Arabic poetry. The edition introduces him with the approximate years 560–661 CE. His long life, extending into the Islamic period, is part of his literary biography.
The poem encompasses abandoned camps, the landscape revived by rain, departing loved ones, a she-camel’s prowess, personal values and tribal identity. Its opening contrasts vanished human settlement with the continuing life of the natural world.
2. Verse 1: from habitation to erasure
عَفَتِ الدِّيَارُ مَحَلُّهَا فَمُقَامُهَا ۞ بِمِنًى تَأَبَّدَ غَوْلُهَا فَرِجَامُهَا
The dwellings and their places of residence have vanished; at Minā, their areas called Ghawl and Rijām have become desolate and uninhabited.
ʿAfat signals the effacement of traces, not simply an empty house. Maḥalluhā fa-muqāmuhā gathers two related aspects of habitation and residence. Ghawl and Rijām function as named places in the landscape; translating them as ordinary nouns would obscure their toponymic role.
3. Verse 1: ʿafā, taʾabbada and connective sequence
FormMorphological pointContextual senseعَفَتْFeminine singular perfect; root ʿ-f-wThe traces disappearedتَأَبَّدَForm V perfect; root ʾ-b-dBecame deserted or wildمَحَلّ / مَقَامExpressions for a place of lodging or stayingSites of habitation
Al-diyār, a nonhuman plural, is naturally construed with the feminine singular verb ʿafat. The connective fa moves across components of a single landscape rather than necessarily narrating separate chronological episodes.
4. Verse 2: a weathered stone inscription
فَمَدَافِعُ الرَّيَّانِ عُرِّيَ رَسْمُهَا ۞ خَلَقًا كَمَا ضَمِنَ الْوُحِيَّ سِلَامُهَا
The traces in the watercourses of al-Rayyān have also worn away, like an inscription on stone whose carved lines have faded with time.
Madāfiʿ al-Rayyān denotes channels or watercourses of al-Rayyān. ʿUrriya rasmuhā concerns the traces wearing away. The comparison links a ruined settlement with inscription on stone: both preserve a record of the past, yet both become difficult to read as time acts upon them.
5. Verse 2: structure of the comparison
ElementIts roleCompared objectFading traces in al-Rayyān’s channelsImageAn inscription worn upon stoneComparison markerكَمَاShared qualityMarks become less legible over time
Al-waḥiyy refers to writing or inscription; silām names a type of stone. The image is not simply about the hardness of rock: it evokes a once-readable record now rendered obscure.
6. Verse 3: the distance of years
دِمَنٌ تَجَرَّمَ بَعْدَ عَهْدِ أَنِيسِهَا ۞ حِجَجٌ خَلَوْنَ حَلَالُهَا وَحَرَامُهَا
These are deserted campsite traces; whole years have passed since their inhabitants lived there, including the months outside and within the sacred season.
Diman denotes traces left at a former settlement or camp. Tajarrama indicates the completion and passage of time. Ḥijaj, plural of ḥijjah, means years. The phrase “their lawful and sacred [months]” evokes the succession of ordinary and inviolable months, emphasizing the long separation from the inhabitants.
7. Verse 3: ḥijaj and the sacred months
Diman introduces the vestiges as a new nominal scene, while “tajarrama ... ḥijaj” specifies the elapsed years. Ḥijaj is the subject of the verb of passing, and “after the time of their inhabitants” supplies the historical reference point.
Ḥalāluhā wa-ḥarāmuhā refers to categories of months, not to the dwellings being legally permitted or forbidden. The paired terms make the passage of entire annual cycles vivid.
8. Verse 4: seasonal rains and thunderclouds
رُزِقَتْ مَرَابِيعَ النُّجُومِ وَصَابَهَا ۞ وَدْقُ الرَّوَاعِدِ جَوْدُهَا فَرِهَامُهَا
The deserted dwellings received spring rains linked to the seasonal stations of the stars, as well as showers from thunderclouds—both abundant downpours and fine, gentle rain.
Marābīʿ al-nujūm invokes the traditional Arabian naming of seasonal rains by stellar stations. It does not assert a modern physical explanation of rainfall. Wadq means rainfall, jawd an ample shower, and rihām a light drizzle. The variety of intensities prepares the reader for vegetation returning to the deserted land.
9. Verse 4: a vocabulary of rainfall
TermMeaningمَرَابِيعSpringtime seasonal rainsوَدْقFalling rainجَوْدCopious rainfallرِهَامFine, light rain
Ruziqat is a passive perfect: rains are presented as something bestowed upon deserted ground, implicitly animating the scene. The expression ṣābahā concerns the rain reaching the land, while al-rawāʿid characterizes the thunder-bearing clouds.
10. Verse 5: rain by night, morning and evening
مِنْ كُلِّ سَارِيَةٍ وَغَادٍ مُدْجِنٍ ۞ وَعَشِيَّةٍ مُتَجَاوِبٍ إِرْزَامُهَا
They came from clouds travelling by night, from morning cloud that gathered and lingered, and from evening storms whose rumbling seemed to answer from one cloud to another.
Sāriyah describes a rain-bearing cloud travelling by night, while ghādin mudjin evokes thick cloud in the morning. “Mutajāwibin irzāmuhā” conveys rumbling that seems to answer across the sky. The succession of times of day emphasizes the persistence and soundscape of the rain.
11. Verse 5: sound imagery and syntax
The expressions min kulli sāriyah, ghādin mudjin and ʿashiyyah supply three temporal weather scenes. The adjective mutajāwib conveys mutual response, while irzāmuhā supplies the rumble of cloud and thunder.
After describing the volume of rainfall, the poet turns to its hours and sounds. The language of “answering” creates auditory imagery rather than merely reporting the weather.
12. Verse 6: vegetation and new life
فَعَلَا فُرُوعُ الْأَيْهُقَانِ وَأَطْفَلَتْ ۞ بِالْجَلْهَتَيْنِ ظِبَاؤُهَا وَنَعَامُهَا
Then the shoots of the wild plant ayhuqān rose high, while does and ostriches in the two sides of the valley had their young.
Ayhuqān names a wild plant and furūʿ its rising shoots. Aṭfalat expresses animals having young. The consequence of rainfall is therefore more than green vegetation: the valley now supports animal life and its offspring.
13. Verse 6: aṭfalat and the image of breeding
WordExplanationفُرُوعPlural of farʿ: shoots or branchesأَطْفَلَتْForm IV perfect: acquired or bore youngالجَلْهَتَيْنِThe two valley sides; genitive dualظِبَاء / نَعَامGazelles/deer and ostriches
The fa in fa-ʿalā links the preceding rainfall to its outcome: shoots grow and animals breed. The parallel botanical and animal scenes make natural life strikingly present in the abandoned settlement.
14. Verse 7: wild cattle and their calves
وَالْعِينُ سَاكِنَةٌ عَلَى أَطْلَائِهَا ۞ عُوذًا تَأَجَّلُ بِالْفَضَاءِ بِهَامُهَا
The wide-eyed wild cows remain beside their calves; the mothers are nursing their young, while their young gather together in the open plain.
Al-ʿīn here identifies wide-eyed wild cattle rather than independent “eyes.” Aṭlāʾ refers to their calves, ʿūdhan describes mothers with recently born young, and bihām refers to their small young. Resting mothers and gathering young create a living pastoral landscape.
15. Verse 7: distinguishing description and circumstance
In wa-l-ʿīnu sākinatun ʿalā aṭlāʾihā, al-ʿīn is the nominal subject and sākinatun its predicate, asserting that the mothers remain in place. The accusative ʿūdhan expresses their condition. Taʾajjalu describes gathering together in groups.
The poet juxtaposes two states: the mothers remain with their calves, while the young gather in a group. This is a composed wildlife scene, not simply a list of species.
16. Verse 8: writing revealed by floods
وَجَلَا السُّيُولُ عَنِ الطُّلُولِ كَأَنَّهَا ۞ زُبُرٌ تُجِدُّ مُتُونَهَا أَقْلَامُهَا
Floodwater cleared the old camp-mounds, revealing traces like lines of writing whose surfaces are being freshly marked by pens.
Jalā al-suyūl means that floods have washed away covering earth and made traces visible. Zubur evokes written pages or inscriptions; in tujiddu mutūnahā aqlāmuhā, pens renew the written surfaces. Earlier the traces were fading; now flooding makes them readable again. This reversal is central to the image.
17. Verse 8: syntax and extended simile
In jalā al-suyūlu ʿani-ṭ-ṭulūl, jalā is the perfect verb, al-suyūl its subject and ʿan al-ṭulūl a prepositional complement. Kaʾannahā introduces the comparison, referring to the uncovered traces.
In tujiddu mutūnahā aqlāmuhā, “pens” is the subject and “their surfaces/texts” the object; this reverses the more familiar prose order. Presenting both the writing and the pens that renew it gives motion to the simile.
18. Verse 9: the image of tattoo marks
أَوْ رَجْعُ وَاشِمَةٍ أُسِفَّ نَؤُورُهَا ۞ كِفَفًا تَعَرَّضَ فَوْقَهُنَّ وِشَامُهَا
Or the traces resemble a tattooer’s renewed patterns, with pigment worked into the skin and the tattoo marks appearing in arranged bands.
Aw offers a second image alongside the comparison with writing; it need not cancel the first. Wāshimah is a woman making tattoos, naʾūr the pigment, and wishām the resulting patterns. The lines exposed by the flood resemble marks darkened and made visible on skin.
19. Verse 9: writing compared with tattooing
AspectVerse 8Verse 9ImageFreshly renewed writingPigment-emphasized tattooMeans of visibilityFlood uncovers the surfaceDark pigment reveals the patternShared effectOld lines reappearOlder markings become distinct
Kifafan suggests orderly borders or bands; taʿarraḍa expresses marks becoming visible. Both similes concern traces surviving and reappearing, but each draws on a different craft.
20. Verse 10: asking the silent ruins
فَوَقَفْتُ أَسْأَلُهَا وَكَيْفَ سُؤَالُنَا ۞ صُمًّا خَوَالِدَ مَا يَبِينُ كَلَامُهَا
So I stood questioning the deserted dwellings—but how can one question silent, enduring remains that cannot make their words intelligible?
Fa-waqaftu asʾaluhā shows the speaker standing still and addressing the remains. Wa-kayfa suʾālunā is a rhetorical question: it exposes the futility of seeking a reply. “Ṣumman khawālida” describes the ruins as mute and long-enduring. The address completes the opening contrast between recollection and the silence of what survives.
21. Verse 10: rhetorical question and personification
“Wa-kayfa suʾālunā” carries a rhetorical or incredulous question: the speaker knows the ruins cannot reply. The accusative ṣumman describes their mute state, and khawālida emphasizes their endurance.
The personification does not mean stones literally speak. The poet addresses inanimate remains as though they were people and immediately acknowledges their silence, creating both an imagined dialogue and its impossibility.
22. Morphology of the passage’s key verbs
VerbFormSenseعَفَتْFeminine perfect, basic triliteralDisappearedتَأَبَّدَPerfect, Form VBecame desolateتَجَرَّمَPerfect, Form VElapsedرُزِقَتْFeminine passive perfectWas grantedأَطْفَلَتْPerfect, Form IVProduced youngتُجِدُّImperfect, Form IV (ajadda)Renews
These verbs carry the passage through disappearance, the return of rain and breeding, and finally the renewed visibility of old traces.
23. Parsing subjects and predicates across the scene
PhraseSyntactic analysisعَفَتِ الدِّيَارُVerb + subject; feminine singular with a nonhuman pluralتَجَرَّمَ ... حِجَجٌVerb with a delayed subject, “years”وَالْعِينُ سَاكِنَةٌNominal subject + predicateجَلَا السُّيُولُVerb + explicit subjectتُجِدُّ مُتُونَهَا أَقْلَامُهَاVerb + fronted object + delayed subject
Parsing requires verb valency and case, not just proximity. In “tujiddu mutūnahā aqlāmuhā,” mutūnahā is the object and aqlāmuhā the agent responsible for renewal.
24. The complete scene: erasure, rain, growth and disclosure
VersesSceneLiterary effect1–3Ruined camps and elapsed yearsDistance in time and place4–5Seasonal rain and rumblingMotion, sound and renewal6–7Plants and wild animalsLife without human habitation8–9Writing and tattoo similesTrying to read the past10Question to the ruinsContrast between memory and silence
Two kinds of survival coexist: renewed wild life and remaining human traces. Neither erases the poet’s separation; hence he addresses the ruins and receives no reply.
25. The principal rhetoric of the opening ten verses
The deserted site is at once erased habitation and a record one strains to read. The flood lifts the earth that concealed older marks, but no human voice returns from them. That tension gives the writing and tattoo similes structural importance rather than making them decorative ornaments.
The following verses develop the departure of the former inhabitants and the changes that followed. Understanding this introduction requires following both the language and the ordered sequence of images.
Practice questions
Question 1
Which Muʿallaqah in this edition belongs to Labīd?
- The first
- The second
- The third
- The fourth
Question 2
Which sequence best captures the first ten verses?
- Deserted camps, rain, wildlife, reappearing traces, silence
- War, killing, compensation, reconciliation
- Hunting, horse, market, tribe
- Court, king, trade, travel
Question 3
What is the principal sense of ʿafat al-diyār?
- The inhabitants returned
- The traces were effaced
- Rain fell
- The settlement flourished
Question 4
Why does al-diyār take a feminine singular verb?
- It is a nonhuman plural
- It is a demonstrative
- It is a sound masculine plural
- It is the answer to an oath
Question 5
What does taʾabbada express in verse 1?
- A mark being engraved
- The houses burning
- A location becoming deserted and wild
- Rain ceasing
Question 6
How should Ghawl and Rijām be understood in verse 1?
- Kinds of crops
- Two grammatical subjects
- Two types of cloud
- Named localities
Question 7
What is the principal comparison in verse 2?
- A shining sword
- Writing fading on stone
- Spreading clouds
- Garden flowers
Question 8
What does al-waḥiyy denote in the verse?
- Writing or inscription
- Revelation in its technical prophetic sense
- A long valley
- A wild animal
Question 9
What are diman in verse 3?
- A raincloud
- Swift horses
- Remains of former campsites
- New shoots
Question 10
What does ḥijaj mean in verse 3?
- The rites of pilgrimage
- Years
- Judgments of wars
- Guests
Question 11
What does ḥalāluhā wa-ḥarāmuhā refer to?
- Types of food
- Rights to lodging
- Letters of a script
- Ordinary and sacred months of the year
Question 12
How should marābīʿ al-nujūm be understood?
- Spring rains classified by traditional seasonal star-stations
- Stones falling from stars
- A shepherd’s instrument
- The lighting of a gathering
Question 13
What kind of rain is rihām?
- Heavy hail
- Dew without clouds
- Fine light rain
- A violent flood current
Question 14
What is the voice of ruziqat?
- Imperative
- Passive perfect
- Active participle
- Active imperfect
Question 15
To which time of day does sāriyah relate?
- Midday heat
- Sunrise
- Evening rest
- Rain clouds moving by night
Question 16
What effect is produced by mutajāwibin irzāmuhā?
- Thunder rumbling as though answering across clouds
- Flowers changing colors
- Animals nursing their young
- Doors opening
Question 17
What is ayhuqān?
- A tribal chief
- A wild plant growing in the abandoned area
- A seasonal star
- A type of stone
Question 18
What does aṭfalat signify in verse 6?
- The animals disappeared
- Drought arrived
- The animals produced young
- Bird nests broke
Question 19
What is the grammatical form of al-jalhatayn?
- Nominative singular
- Sound feminine plural
- Imperfect verb
- Genitive dual
Question 20
What is al-ʿīn in verse 7?
- A horse’s eyes
- Wide-eyed wild cattle
- Dark-eyed women
- Ocean springs
Question 21
What are aṭlāʾihā?
- The calves of the wild cattle
- Layers of cloud
- Pillars of old houses
- Desert hills
Question 22
What is the effect of depicting resting mothers and young gathering into a group?
- The place appears wholly lifeless
- Old writing becomes visible
- It depicts maternal care and the young gathering together in the wildlife scene
- It depicts a busy marketplace
Question 23
How do the traces become visible in verse 8?
- Wind constructed a new house
- A pen literally wrote on the wall
- The inhabitants returned
- Floodwater removed the covering earth
Question 24
What is the image in zuburun tujiddu mutūnahā aqlāmuhā?
- Written lines renewed by pens
- An ostrich feather
- Thundercloud rumble
- A well in the sand
Question 25
What is the syntactic role of aqlāmuhā?
- Cognate accusative
- Delayed subject
- Object of a preposition
- Nominal topic
Question 26
What is naʾūr in verse 9?
- A flower’s fragrance
- Old paper
- Pigment used in tattooing
- A rain stream
Question 27
What is the force of aw at the start of verse 9?
- Rejecting the preceding image
- The consequence of a condition
- Beginning an oath
- Introducing a second simile for the same traces
Question 28
What kind of question is wa-kayfa suʾālunā?
- A rhetorical question emphasizing the lack of reply
- A genuine request for factual information
- A commercial inquiry
- A question addressed to a grammar teacher
Question 29
What do ṣumman khawālida describe?
- Loudness and speed
- Beauty of new homes
- Mutenness and persistence
- The cessation of rainfall
Question 30
How do writing, tattooing and questioning relate in verses 8–10?
- Proving the physical cause of rain
- The remains can be seen or “read” but cannot answer
- Counting offspring of wildlife
- Commanding a tribal battle
Open the interactive quiz