Upon that, they promised and swore, and took engagements from one another. But Basam turned towards his comrades. Let us hide ourselves here, said he; but if ye perceive that they commit any injury to the property and families, we must then assail them too, till some people come to our aid, and thus we obtain our end in the death of Antar. However, we must in the attack remain in the rear, so that the women may not distinguish us, and know that we are amongst the enemy. Do what you please, said the slaves, and when the shades of night were dissolving, the party under Vethab poured down upon Antar like a cloud of waves, shouting out, To arms! to arms!
Then began the women to scream and weep. Antar cast his eyes towards Ibla, and she was bathed in tears: he looked at her mother, and her grief was great. Antar smiled, and presented himself before Ibla’s mother. O mistress, said he, what think you of these our enemies? verily they are eager for their prey. O Antar, said she, my force and spirits are exhausted; in a moment we shall be the prisoners of our enemies, and they will scatter us over this desert. O my mistress, said Antar, give Ibla to me in marriage, and I will disperse your enemies at a single onset. I will reduce them to annihilation; and I will give you their horses and their armour as a dower. This is no time for merriment, said she. No, cried Antar, By the God of day, and the animator of souls: he that is God the merciful, and the Lord of victory, if you promise to marry her to me, I will make over to you these horses, and slay their masters. Defend her, said she, and she is yours. At the instant, he turned round to Shiboob—Protect my rear, he cried, this day. Be of good cheer, thou black-born, exclaimed Shiboob, for I will bear two-thirds of thy troubles. Antar rushed forward and assaulted them; roaring and shouting aloud, and again he attacked them, and roared out. He encountered the first ranks, and met them with all-potent thrusts; he struck them in their chests, and in their eyes. He slew the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth; and behold, a horseman came down upon Antar from behind. As he was blustering over the plain, and just as he was about to transfix Antar with his spear, lo! an arrow pierced his heart, and threw him from his horse. The terrible Shiboob dealt the deadly blow. When the party saw the state of the battle, they retreated from before him; but he marking how the enemy were dispersed, came up to the women, and said to Ibla, Check thy tears, thou light of my eyes, the man lives not that has harmed thee! and thus he spoke in verse:
“Check thy tears, for if thy heart is distressed, the noble lion of the den will protect thee. O Ibla, fear not, indulge no alarms, for my whole frame is labouring under the burden of its love; and I am a lion to whom the warriors in the day of contention bow in submission, and whom the cowards dread. O Ibla, if persecution and absence must kill me, O that the bonds of meeting were loosened for ever. Verily, I will defend thee this day, O thou my only hope, for I have a sword whose blade cleaves the sculls. O Ibla, arise—behold my actions, and my deeds under the battle dust, when every man is cut to pieces. Behold my exploits when they attack and come on, and the supports of their tribe are destroyed. The foe wishes to take thee captive, O thou my only hope. O Ibla, palsied is the hand that would take thee prisoner. I will steep my sword in their blood, and I will glut the birds, and the wolves, and the Ghuols, with their carcases. Here let all the world know that every foe of mine shall be overthrown under the dust of the battle.”
When Ibla heard Antar address her, she smiled with teeth more brilliant, and whiter than pearls, for she felt assured of his victory and conquest. Again he returned towards the foe, like a lion, and attacked them on the field of battle, scattering them to the right and to the left. Shiboob assisted him in the rear with his arrows, and the dust rose and filled the plain on all sides. The women were praying for Antar, and invoking the God of heaven. He was eagerly assailing the foe, like a lion, and slew thirty of their horsemen. His horse being completely exhausted, he dismounted and vaulted on another charger; and whilst all this was passing the slaves of the tribe of Abs looked on and gazed in wild dismay and astonishment; but the chief Vethab, when he perceived his companions and those that were overthrown, cried out to the survivors, I alone am his match; and he rode away to the field of battle, clothed in brilliant armour, a splendid sword on his loins, and a spear in his hand, and he thus exclaimed:
“The vicissitudes of fortune, from the height of their mutability are launched against me, and every companion has abandoned me. The death of my tribe is at hand, from the arm of a slave who disregards his fate. It is no wonder when fortune raises up a poor wretch, that she should leave him in his infirmities a prey to the lions. O thou vile slave, that hast outstepped thy sphere, a warrior, one whom no words can describe, is come against thee. Away then with thy blind follies, thou son of Zebeebah; for how many heroes have I destroyed at the moment of their attack.”
He had scarcely finished his verses when Antar answered him:
“Thou wouldst abuse me, vile wretch, for that I am the colour of that night, whose dangers I dare. If I am a slave, I have slain thy chiefs, and I have overwhelmed them with the vicissitudes of fortune. I am the assaulting lion: in the field of battle I rush impetuously when the coward turns away in flight. The firm-rooted mountains are up-rooted at my vehemence, and let every one who dares to resist me, be certain of death. How many heroes are punished as soon as the lustre of my horse’s front shines in the plain of war! their hands instantly relinquish their arms, and they tumble on the surface of the earth, struggling with their limbs. How many warriors have I left stretched dead, gored with the spear thrusts! If thou art desirous to fight me, come on boldly to the hero who will make thee taste the food of death even from the tip of his fingers.”
He instantly assailed him, and struck him on the breast, and driving out his spear between his shoulders, he rushed among his comrades like unto a valiant lion, and gored their sides and their bosoms: and when they perceived that his assault was like a vivid flame of fire, they fled over the plains and the rocks. In the mean time, the slaves of Shas and Rebia, seeing what Antar had done to the tribe of Moostalik, and how he was coming down upon them with a loud shout, and also Shiboob, quick as the flash of lightning, in his rear; they turned their backs and fled. Antar returned, the blood streaming from his spear. The women joined him, thanking and praising him: and Ibla also came up to him and smiled upon him. God protect thee, said she, thou black in face, but fair in deeds—thou ornament of men. He expressed his gratitude, and having replaced her on the howdah, and ordered the slaves to collect the scattered horses and dispersed cattle, and the spoils of the slain, he travelled on with the women till they reached the tribe of Ghiftan, and informed Shedad of all that had occurred with the enemy. Shedad gave him thanks, and kissed him between the eyes; he took him by the hand, and his anger was soothed. And when they were at the feast, Shedad wished to place him among the chiefs; but Antar would not consent; and he went away and joined the slaves; and all the chiefs were astonished at his modesty. They stood in awe of him, and raised his dignity; however, all the elders and the youth came up to him, and made him sit down with them to drink wine, and treated him with all manner of kindness, and in return, he recited various pieces of poetry, and they were greatly delighted; and for seven days they continued this civility and honour, and not a day passed but the families made their acknowledgements to Antar.
And the feast being concluded, the tribe of Abs sought their homes and their own habitations, and travelled till they reached the land of Sheerebah and Mount Saadi. When lo! loud cries and increasing shouts, and shrill screams and clouds of dust, from all directions assailed them. What misfortune, cried Shedad, what disasters have befallen us? They hastened away on their Arab steeds, and found their wives prisoners, and their daughters dishonoured. Loud and confused were their shrieks, and through the dust glared the dazzling brightness of swords: and the uproar of men was like the crash of thunder: and there was no one in the tents but a few men and the sons of King Zoheir, all covered with wounds; and though they were still defending the property, they felt certain of drinking the cup of death.
Now the cause of this terrible event was, that King Zoheir had gone forth, accompanied by his warriors, against the land of Cahtan; for he was informed that Mooteghetris was coming down upon him with all his tribe; and it was Zoheir’s intention to meet him at some distance, out of his own territories, and thus to prevent him from invading his country, and laying waste his lands. So he left his brother Zembaa with a small body of men and departed; but chancing to miss the enemy on the road, Mooteghetris reached the country of Zoheir in safety, where he found the tents unprotected by warriors. He rushed against them, and the noble Absians rose to arms; and violent was the contention between them, and many brave men were left dead upon the plain, and the brightness of the day became black. Numbers thickened upon the Absians; loud and piercing were the shrieks of the women, and slavery seemed their undoubted fate. Temadhur was taken prisoner, and also Modehilah and Mekdada and Jemana, and they were overwhelmed in misery and disgrace. At that hour arrived Antar and Shedad, and the horsemen of Carad; and they amounted in all to forty warriors.