The two verses featuring this image are taken from ‘Ode of Labid’ featured in the Moa’alkat and written in Diwani Jali script. The Moa’alkat is a collection of 7 pre-Islamic poetry first believed to be collected and published in the early 7th century. This is widely considered to be some of the best pre-Islamic works in Arabic. This particular Ode, written by bu Aqil Labīd ibn Rabī’ah, is a melancholic remembrance of an ancient way of life of a Bedouin tribe in the desert, and the poet’s fantastic journeys that brought love, loss, and adventure.

Noble we; our fathers wielded power bequeathed to them, dealt law to the nations, each tribe its lawgiver.

All our lineage faultless, no light words our promises; not for us the vain thoughts, passions of common men.

مِـنْ مَـعْشَرٍ سَنَّتْ لَهُمْ آبَاؤُهُمْ

ولِـكُـلِّ قَـوْمٍ سُـنَّةٌ وإِمَـامُها

لا يَـطْبَعُونَ ولا يَـبُورُ فَعَالُهُمْ

إذْ لا يِـميلُ مَعَ الهَوَى أحْلامُها

A colored version of this piece was exhibited in Algeria at Moustafa Basha museum in May-June 2013
تم عرض القطعة الملونة من هذا العمل في متحف مصطفى باشا في أيار – حزيران 2013