LessonsṬarafah: Three Pleasures of Life and the Certainty of Death (Verses 55–67)Quiz

كَأَنَّ الْبُرَيْنِ وَالدَّمَالِيجَ عُلِّقَتْ
عَلَى عُشَرٍ أَوْ خَرْوَعٍ لَمْ يُخَضَّدِ
Meaning: It is as though the two bracelets and armlets hang upon branches of ʿushar or kharwaʿ trees that have not been pruned.

Al-burayn are two bracelets, al-damālīj arm ornaments, and ʿushar and kharwaʿ refer to trees. Lam yukhaḍḍad means that the branches have not been trimmed. The ornaments suggest the woman’s arms, while the uncut branches supply an image of their fullness and shape. The simile imports a natural scene into the human portrait.

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Verse 61: ornaments compared with branches

Ṭarafah: Three Pleasures of Life and the Certainty of Death (Verses 55–67)

كَأَنَّ الْبُرَيْنِ وَالدَّمَالِيجَ عُلِّقَتْ
عَلَى عُشَرٍ أَوْ خَرْوَعٍ لَمْ يُخَضَّدِ
Meaning: It is as though the two bracelets and armlets hang upon branches of ʿushar or kharwaʿ trees that have not been pruned.

Al-burayn are two bracelets, al-damālīj arm ornaments, and ʿushar and kharwaʿ refer to trees. Lam yukhaḍḍad means that the branches have not been trimmed. The ornaments suggest the woman’s arms, while the uncut branches supply an image of their fullness and shape. The simile imports a natural scene into the human portrait.