قَالَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ هَمَّامٍ: فَاتَّبَعْتُهُ مُوَارِيًا عَنْهُ عِيَانِي
Al-Ḥārith ibn Hammām said: I followed him, keeping myself out of his sight.
The tāʾ in ittabaʿtuhu marks the narrator as subject; the object pronoun refers back to the preacher. Muwāriyan is a circumstantial modifier indicating stealth. ʿIyānī concerns his visible presence.
The preacher hides his route, while the narrator hides his presence. Their contrasting actions create suspense and propel the story.
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The Ṣanʿāʾ Maqāmah: Worldly Attachment, the Audience’s Gifts, and a Secret Pursuit
قَالَ الْحَارِثُ بْنُ هَمَّامٍ: فَاتَّبَعْتُهُ مُوَارِيًا عَنْهُ عِيَانِي
Al-Ḥārith ibn Hammām said: I followed him, keeping myself out of his sight.
The tāʾ in ittabaʿtuhu marks the narrator as subject; the object pronoun refers back to the preacher. Muwāriyan is a circumstantial modifier indicating stealth. ʿIyānī concerns his visible presence.
The preacher hides his route, while the narrator hides his presence. Their contrasting actions create suspense and propel the story.