Story of A Woman
2014 - Ink on blue cotton
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2014 - Ink on brown cotton
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2013 - Ink on peach colored cotton
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2011 - Henna on wool
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We are daughters of the star ....................................................... We walk on cushions like dazzling grouses
With musk in hair and pearls in scarves .
If you come (onto your enemy) we will offer hugs ........ And will spread out the cushions
If you escape from battle we'll leave ....................................... Without regret.
The above is a translation of the Arabic poetry in this artwork. This print is studying Hend Bint 'Utbah, the poet who wrote those lyrics. She is an Arab woman who witnessed the rise of Islam in Mecca. She claimed her freedom and asked her father, not to marry her out without her consent because, she told him, she was wise enough to choose what’s right for her. She lead the women of Mecca to sing the above lyrics behind the men of the tribe when they went out for battle. She married Abu Sufyaan who later became the leader of Mecca from the tribe “Quraish” of which Mohammed the prophet was a member. She was full of rage against the new religion, which her father, uncle, and brother, fought against and were killed. She was especially sour towards Hamzah, Mohammed's beloved uncle and a furious fighter. So she hired someone to kill him during a battle against the new Muslims and bring her his liver to eat. Years later when she herself converted to Islam and came to greet Mohammed he said:
Hend, the eater of livers?
She then answered him with a rhyming sentence:
A prophet and a holder of grudges? This saying went as a proverb in Arabic literature.
More about Hend Bint Utbah
With musk in hair and pearls in scarves .
If you come (onto your enemy) we will offer hugs ........ And will spread out the cushions
If you escape from battle we'll leave ....................................... Without regret.
The above is a translation of the Arabic poetry in this artwork. This print is studying Hend Bint 'Utbah, the poet who wrote those lyrics. She is an Arab woman who witnessed the rise of Islam in Mecca. She claimed her freedom and asked her father, not to marry her out without her consent because, she told him, she was wise enough to choose what’s right for her. She lead the women of Mecca to sing the above lyrics behind the men of the tribe when they went out for battle. She married Abu Sufyaan who later became the leader of Mecca from the tribe “Quraish” of which Mohammed the prophet was a member. She was full of rage against the new religion, which her father, uncle, and brother, fought against and were killed. She was especially sour towards Hamzah, Mohammed's beloved uncle and a furious fighter. So she hired someone to kill him during a battle against the new Muslims and bring her his liver to eat. Years later when she herself converted to Islam and came to greet Mohammed he said:
Hend, the eater of livers?
She then answered him with a rhyming sentence:
A prophet and a holder of grudges? This saying went as a proverb in Arabic literature.
More about Hend Bint Utbah