LessonsṬarafah: The Camel Incident, Courage, and Self-Worth (Verses 89–97)Quiz

فَلَوْ كُنْتُ وَغْلًا فِي الرِّجَالِ لَضَرَّنِي
عَدَاوَةُ ذِي الْأَصْحَابِ وَالْمُتَوَحِّدِ
Meaning: If I were a weak and insignificant man among others, I would be hurt by hostility from both a man with many companions and a man standing alone.

Waghl denotes a weak person and, by extension, someone of little worth. Law kuntu ... la-ḍarranī imagines a condition contrary to the poet's self-presentation. Dhī al-aṣḥāb wa-l-mutawaḥḥid sets the well-supported man against the solitary adversary: the comparison suggests vulnerability to either.

Opening interactive controls...

Verse 96: the counterfactual weakling

Ṭarafah: The Camel Incident, Courage, and Self-Worth (Verses 89–97)

فَلَوْ كُنْتُ وَغْلًا فِي الرِّجَالِ لَضَرَّنِي
عَدَاوَةُ ذِي الْأَصْحَابِ وَالْمُتَوَحِّدِ
Meaning: If I were a weak and insignificant man among others, I would be hurt by hostility from both a man with many companions and a man standing alone.

Waghl denotes a weak person and, by extension, someone of little worth. Law kuntu ... la-ḍarranī imagines a condition contrary to the poet's self-presentation. Dhī al-aṣḥāb wa-l-mutawaḥḥid sets the well-supported man against the solitary adversary: the comparison suggests vulnerability to either.