La-ʿamruka is an oath formula in early Arabic poetry, literally invoking the addressee's life. In mā amrī ʿalayya bi-ghummah, mā negates the proposition; the bāʾ before ghummah reinforces the negative sense.
In nahārī wa-lā laylī ʿalayya bi-sarmad, the pairing of day and night heightens the declaration: his affairs are not permanently veiled and he does not regard the night as endless. The force of the construction lies in its emphatic denial.
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Ṭarafah: Courage, Mortality, and the Revelation of Time (Verses 98–104)
La-ʿamruka is an oath formula in early Arabic poetry, literally invoking the addressee's life. In mā amrī ʿalayya bi-ghummah, mā negates the proposition; the bāʾ before ghummah reinforces the negative sense.
In nahārī wa-lā laylī ʿalayya bi-sarmad, the pairing of day and night heightens the declaration: his affairs are not permanently veiled and he does not regard the night as endless. The force of the construction lies in its emphatic denial.