LessonsṬarafah: The She-Camel’s Anatomy, Similes, and Roman Arch (Verses 17–23)Quiz

كَأَنَّ كِنَاسَيْ ضَالَةٍ يَكْنُفَانِهَا
وَأَطْرَ قِسِيٍّ تَحْتَ صُلْبٍ مُؤَيَّدِ
It is as if two animal shelters at the base of a wild jujube tree flank her, and the curved ends of bows lie beneath a strongly supported back.

In kināsay ḍālah, kinās is the shelter a wild animal makes near the base of a tree; ḍālah is the wild jujube. Yaknufānihā means that two things flank or enclose her.

Aṭr qisiyy are the curved limbs or ends of bows, and ṣulb muʾayyad is a strong, supported back. The combined image conveys spacing, curvature, and structural solidity rather than simply the pleasantness of a tree.

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Verse 21: Animal shelters and bows

Ṭarafah: The She-Camel’s Anatomy, Similes, and Roman Arch (Verses 17–23)

كَأَنَّ كِنَاسَيْ ضَالَةٍ يَكْنُفَانِهَا
وَأَطْرَ قِسِيٍّ تَحْتَ صُلْبٍ مُؤَيَّدِ
It is as if two animal shelters at the base of a wild jujube tree flank her, and the curved ends of bows lie beneath a strongly supported back.

In kināsay ḍālah, kinās is the shelter a wild animal makes near the base of a tree; ḍālah is the wild jujube. Yaknufānihā means that two things flank or enclose her.

Aṭr qisiyy are the curved limbs or ends of bows, and ṣulb muʾayyad is a strong, supported back. The combined image conveys spacing, curvature, and structural solidity rather than simply the pleasantness of a tree.