إِذَا الْقَوْمُ قَالُوا مَنْ فَتًى خِلْتُ أَنَّنِي
عُنِيتُ فَلَمْ أَكْسَلْ وَلَمْ أَتَبَلَّدِ
Meaning: When the people ask who will undertake a demanding task, I take their call as addressed to me; I do not prove lazy or slow-witted in responding.
Man fatā is not simply a request for someone’s age. It asks for a capable and courageous person. In khiltu annanī ʿunītu, the poet considers himself summoned, and fa-lam aksal wa-lam ataballad emphasizes his readiness through two denials.
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Ṭarafah: Camel’s Pace, Courage, and Social Life (Verses 38–46)
إِذَا الْقَوْمُ قَالُوا مَنْ فَتًى خِلْتُ أَنَّنِي
عُنِيتُ فَلَمْ أَكْسَلْ وَلَمْ أَتَبَلَّدِ
Meaning: When the people ask who will undertake a demanding task, I take their call as addressed to me; I do not prove lazy or slow-witted in responding.
Man fatā is not simply a request for someone’s age. It asks for a capable and courageous person. In khiltu annanī ʿunītu, the poet considers himself summoned, and fa-lam aksal wa-lam ataballad emphasizes his readiness through two denials.