«وَأَنَا ذُو مَجَاعَةٍ وَبُؤْسَى وَجِرَابٌ كَفُؤَادِ أُمِّ مُوسَى»
I was afflicted by hunger and misery, with a travel bag as empty as the heart of Moses’ mother.
Majāʿa denotes severe hunger, buʾsā distress, and jirāb a provision bag. The comparison makes a literary allusion to the Qur’anic account of Moses’ mother and her heart’s state under anxiety.
The immediate point is the complete absence of provisions. The allusion intensifies the image; it is not a negative judgment on Moses’ mother.
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The Kūfan Maqāmah: Abū Zayd’s Strange Tale and the Midnight Knock
«وَأَنَا ذُو مَجَاعَةٍ وَبُؤْسَى وَجِرَابٌ كَفُؤَادِ أُمِّ مُوسَى»
I was afflicted by hunger and misery, with a travel bag as empty as the heart of Moses’ mother.
Majāʿa denotes severe hunger, buʾsā distress, and jirāb a provision bag. The comparison makes a literary allusion to the Qur’anic account of Moses’ mother and her heart’s state under anxiety.
The immediate point is the complete absence of provisions. The allusion intensifies the image; it is not a negative judgment on Moses’ mother.