«حَتَّى إِذَا لَأْلَأَ الْأُفُقُ ذَنَبَ السِّرْحَانِ وَانْبَلَجَ الْفَجْرُ»
Until the horizon showed the first pale streak of dawn, daybreak opened, and it was time to take the road.
Dhanab al-sirḥān literally means a wolf’s tail and is used poetically for the streak of first light. Inbilāj al-fajr evokes dawn breaking through darkness. The richly visual transition from night talk to dawn is functional: it starts the moment at which Abū Zayd intends to escape.
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The Raḥbiyyah Maqāmah — Abū Zayd Revealed, Escape and Satirical Counsel
«حَتَّى إِذَا لَأْلَأَ الْأُفُقُ ذَنَبَ السِّرْحَانِ وَانْبَلَجَ الْفَجْرُ»
Until the horizon showed the first pale streak of dawn, daybreak opened, and it was time to take the road.
Dhanab al-sirḥān literally means a wolf’s tail and is used poetically for the streak of first light. Inbilāj al-fajr evokes dawn breaking through darkness. The richly visual transition from night talk to dawn is functional: it starts the moment at which Abū Zayd intends to escape.