«فَدَخَلَ ذُو لِحْيَةٍ كَثَّةٍ وَهَيْئَةٍ رَثَّةٍ»
A man entered, thick-bearded and shabby in appearance.
The first phrase supplies a visible physical feature, the second a worn appearance. Neither establishes the man's learning, character, or social worth. A translation such as “an ignorant beggar entered” imports a judgment absent from the Arabic.
The paired descriptive constructions create a concise visual introduction. A translator can maintain their parallel rhythm—“thick-bearded and shabby”—while resisting hindsight: the visitor's later literary skill should not be smuggled into what the narrator initially sees.
Translation exercise
Test whether the description of dress proves lack of literary skill. What does the sentence actually establish?