Protective Jealousy

We already spoke about the extreme type of ‘protective jealousy’ ‘الغيرة’ that Arabs had for their women, even in pre-Islamic times of Jahiliyah.

Here’s another example:

A man saw his wife brushing her teeth with a Siwaak-twig from the Araak-tree, and he became jealous, compiling a poem:

‎قد فُزتَ يا عودَ الأَراكِ بثغْرِها
أمَا خِفْتَ يا عودَ الأراكِ أراكَ؟
‎ولو كُنْتَ مِنْ أَهْلِ القتالِ قتلتُكَ
‎ما فازَ منِّي يا سواكُ سواك
“You have seized her mouth, O twig of ARAAK!
Were you not afraid, O twig of ARAAK,
that I would see you (ARAAK)?!
Had you been from those who I could fight, I would have k*lled you!
No one has defeated me, O SIWAAK,
except you (SIWAAK)!”

[nice wordplay in Arabic]