We left the women of the clan to pick up iummanah grains near the
beauteous mountains at 'Uwaynah.
Probably the poet wishes to say that the women, while returning, ran towards the high mountain through fear, and the threads of their necklaces
were broken. When fear was dispelled from them, they began to pick the
pearls again.
'Adi bin Zayd says:
She has put on a strong and hardy necklace round her neck, and a
jumrnan which has been graced by the deft hands of virgins.
The poet has mentioned virgins as they have more leisure, and very
conscious of self-adornment and desire husbands. It is natural, therefore,
that they would exercise all care in threading pearls. Moreover, their
palms would be uncalloused and soft because of their youth. Nabighah
says:
'Virgins have threaded her necklace, row upon row, with pearls'.
These verses could point both to real pearls and pearls made out of silver.
Dhual-Rummah observes:
Rain falling from the clouds presents the sight of pearls
twinkling on a rope.
Silk (thread) and thaqh (perforation) are surplus things. Both enter into
each other. For example, we are apt to say, "I have put the ring on the
finger," although it is the finger that is put into the ring.
Ibn Hamzah says:
They have upon them rubies, jewels, mercury-like silver and threaded
pearls like the colour of the daylight.
Qays bin Malluh writes:
She has upon her body, pearls made by the jeweller, as if the night
has released her stone of dew.
Qays has used the word, sawagh (jeweller), together with jumrnan in the
above verse. This strenghtens the contention that the word, jumrnan, is
used for artificially made pearls. Jewellers polish and decorate pearls;
they do not make them.
A'sha says:
Anyone who gazes at Hawdhah would prostrate himself when he has
seen him crowned. The jeweller has studded the crown with jacynths,
and thou woudst find them blemishless.
Khusraw Parwiz had presented Hawdhab bin 'Ali with a crown as a reward. According to Hanifah, anyone, Arab or non-Arab, who saw
it, prostrated himself out of reverence since the crown had the figure of
Khusraw. It was customary to prostrate oneself when the figure of
Khusraw was seen on the dirham. Aswad bin Ya'far says:
The wine (that was passed) by the nasal-accented and be-turbaned
cup-bearer bought by the dirham evoking prostration.
