A New Reading of an Ancient Poem

HABIT ibn Jabir, better known as Ta'abbata Sharran, was a 1poet from the pre-Islamic Saald1fk. In his poetry, we find a short passage that consists of nine lines, in which he described a unique experience that he underwent when a group of Banui Lihyan chased him, pushing him into a narrow pass, out of which he managed to emerge safely thanks to his wit and daring. This poem celebrates the poet's escape, which he consideres as a great victory over his pursuers. In the present study I wish to analyze this poem in full, in terms of both content and form, and to correct some common mistakes concerning certain points in it. I would also like to include a discussion of a number of current opinions concerning interconnectedness of the verses in ancient Arabic poetry, as well as the relationship between metre and content. I also wish to point out the reciprocal relationship between the opening words and stereotyped expressions of the poem and its metre. The following is the text of the poem is cited in Abui-Tammam's Hama-sa 1, in English transliteration, each verse followed by an English translation2

Arabic · Art · Content (measure theory · Habit · Islam · Linguistics · Literature · Metre · Old English · Poetry · Reading (process · Theology · Transliteration · Victory · Wish · Education and Islamic Studies · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology