وَجَدْتُهُ قَعْدَةَ جُمَّةٍ وَأَلْفَيْتُهُ ضُجْعَةَ نَوْمَةٍ
I found him forever sitting and lying down in sleep.
Qaʿdah evokes much sitting, ḍujʿah lying down, and nawmah repeated sleep. Parallel nouns make the alleged idleness vivid.
The contrast is deliberate: he had promised skilled earnings but, according to his wife, showed little activity. Her criticism now turns from past words to daily conduct.
Opening interactive controls...
The Alexandrian Maqāmah — A Traveler’s Ambition and a Complaint before the Judge
وَجَدْتُهُ قَعْدَةَ جُمَّةٍ وَأَلْفَيْتُهُ ضُجْعَةَ نَوْمَةٍ
I found him forever sitting and lying down in sleep.
Qaʿdah evokes much sitting, ḍujʿah lying down, and nawmah repeated sleep. Parallel nouns make the alleged idleness vivid.
The contrast is deliberate: he had promised skilled earnings but, according to his wife, showed little activity. Her criticism now turns from past words to daily conduct.