«وَصَدَفَنِي عَنِ التَّعَرُّفِ إِلَيْهِ صِغَرُ يَدِي»
My limited means prevented me from making myself known to him.
In Arabic yad literally means hand, but the “reach” or narrowness of the hand may stand for financial capacity. Ṣighar yadī is therefore an idiom for poverty, not a physical description of a small hand.
Abū Zayd uses this image to explain why, despite believing himself to be the father, he has not approached the youth. It adds a practical obstacle to a highly emotional claim.
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The Kūfan Maqāmah: The Lost-Son Claim and the Gathering’s Generosity
«وَصَدَفَنِي عَنِ التَّعَرُّفِ إِلَيْهِ صِغَرُ يَدِي»
My limited means prevented me from making myself known to him.
In Arabic yad literally means hand, but the “reach” or narrowness of the hand may stand for financial capacity. Ṣighar yadī is therefore an idiom for poverty, not a physical description of a small hand.
Abū Zayd uses this image to explain why, despite believing himself to be the father, he has not approached the youth. It adds a practical obstacle to a highly emotional claim.