LessonsLabīd ibn Rabīʿah: The Bereaved Wild Cow, Rain and the Hunting Dogs (Verses 36–53)Quiz

لِمُعَفَّرٍ قَهْدٍ تَنَازَعَ شَلْوَهُ غُبْسٌ كَوَاسِبُ لَا يُمَنُّ طَعَامُهَا
She mourns a pale, dust-covered calf over whose remains greyish predators quarrel—creatures that do not receive their food as a gift.

Muʿaffar means dust-covered, qahd light-colored, and shalw remains of a body. Ghubsun kawāsib describes dusky predators that find food through hunting.

Lā yumannu ṭaʿāmuhā does not describe the animals as generous or ungenerous: it means their food is not bestowed on them. The cause of the calf’s loss is now made explicit.

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The dust-covered calf and predators

Labīd ibn Rabīʿah: The Bereaved Wild Cow, Rain and the Hunting Dogs (Verses 36–53)

لِمُعَفَّرٍ قَهْدٍ تَنَازَعَ شَلْوَهُ غُبْسٌ كَوَاسِبُ لَا يُمَنُّ طَعَامُهَا
She mourns a pale, dust-covered calf over whose remains greyish predators quarrel—creatures that do not receive their food as a gift.

Muʿaffar means dust-covered, qahd light-colored, and shalw remains of a body. Ghubsun kawāsib describes dusky predators that find food through hunting.

Lā yumannu ṭaʿāmuhā does not describe the animals as generous or ungenerous: it means their food is not bestowed on them. The cause of the calf’s loss is now made explicit.