Henry Smith
What a kind of men was Antarah Bin Shadad?
In the most critical and dangerous moment, where fighting was so fierce
and neck to neck, he recalled his beloved, and out of the bloody arms, he
distilled so magnificent image of her, how was he able to remember her in a
situation that never gave a room for thinking of anything, but to hit and
survive:
وَلَقَدْ ذَكَرْتُكِ وَالرِّمَاحُ نَوَاهِلٌ مِنِّي وَبِيضُ الْهِنْدِ تَقْطُرُ مِنْ دَمِي
فَوَدِدْتُ تَقْبِيلَ السُّيُـوفِ لأَنَّهَا لَمَعَتْ كَبَارِقِ ثَغْرِكِ الْمُتَبَسِّـمِ
And I’ve remembered thee, and
my body was by sharp gores being torn,
And my blood of the Indian glistening swords
abundantly dripped,
How wishful I was, then, to kiss the swords,
So glistening they were like your smiling mouth.
Antarah was a slave negro. He was one of the most eloquent Arab poets of
Al-Jahiliah (pre-Islamic period). He was also one of the most valiant knights
of Abess tribe, who freed himself from the shackles of servitude by his sword
and became the dearest and nearest leader to the king.
Henry Smith
