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

لَهَا مِرْفَقَانِ أَفْتَلَانِ كَأَنَّهُمَا
تَمُرُّ بِسَلْمَي دَالِجٍ مُتَشَدِّدِ
Her two elbows are strong; their outward spread is likened to the two buckets held away from the sides by a powerful water drawer as he moves.

Mirfaqān aftalān describes two especially strong elbow joints. Salm is a water bucket with a particular handle; dālij is the person who draws water from a well and empties it into a trough.

As a strong carrier holds a bucket in each hand, both hang apart from his sides. The comparison draws attention to the camel’s well-spaced, powerful elbows, not to a woman named Salmā.

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Verse 22: Elbows and a water drawer’s buckets

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

لَهَا مِرْفَقَانِ أَفْتَلَانِ كَأَنَّهُمَا
تَمُرُّ بِسَلْمَي دَالِجٍ مُتَشَدِّدِ
Her two elbows are strong; their outward spread is likened to the two buckets held away from the sides by a powerful water drawer as he moves.

Mirfaqān aftalān describes two especially strong elbow joints. Salm is a water bucket with a particular handle; dālij is the person who draws water from a well and empties it into a trough.

As a strong carrier holds a bucket in each hand, both hang apart from his sides. The comparison draws attention to the camel’s well-spaced, powerful elbows, not to a woman named Salmā.