«نَابِضٌ يَرِي النِّبَالَ، وَرَابِضٌ يَبْغِي النِّضَالَ»
A figure poised for arrows and contest.
Al-nibāl are arrows, while al-niḍāl evokes an archery contest or struggle. The writer turns a literary disagreement into an image of readiness for combat. No actual physical fight is described; the forthcoming contest concerns words.
The military imagery raises the stakes. The elder will not merely ask a small question about a passage: he appears ready to challenge the assembled critics and their shared literary assumptions.