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a bottomless ocean (1) wrapped in layers of darkness (2), each piled upon the next, while he was in the most wretched state imaginable. She jolted out of sleep, frightened (3) and agitated, and decided not to mention to him—or to anyone else—anything of what she had seen.
But the vision quickly came to pass: the day of that ominous night (4) had not yet run its course before ʿUbayd Allah ibn Jahsh had repudiated his faith and become a Christian. He then immersed himself in the taverns (5) of the wine-sellers, downing (6) the mother of all evils (7) without ever quenching his thirst or feeling sated.
Next, he presented her with two alternatives, each more bitter than the other:
(1) Lujj sea: a sea characterized by agitated waves.
(2) It was enveloped in darkness: darkness covered and overwhelmed it.
(3) It surged upward, terrified.
(4) The accursed (unfortunate) night.
(5) The drinking houses of the tavern keepers: the small shops run by those who serve wine.
(6) To be inseparable from wine: to frequent it and become addicted to it.
(7) The mother of evils: a metonym for wine, so named because it is the source of all wrongdoing.
بحرٍ لِّجيٍّ (١) غشيته ظلماتٌ (٢) بعضها فوق بعضٍ، وهو بأسوإ حالٍ ...
فهبَّت من نومها مذعورةً (٣) مضطربةً ...
ولم تشأ أن تذكر له أو لأحدٍ غيره شيئًا ممَّا رأت ...
لكن رؤياها ما لبثت أن تحقَّقت، إذ لم ينقض يوم تلك اللَّيلة المشؤومة (٤) حتَّى كان عبيد الله بن جحشٍ، قد ارتدَّ عن دينه وتنصَّر ...
ثمَّ أكبَّ على حانات (٥) الخمَّارين يُعاقر (٦) أمَّ الخبائث (٧) فلا يرتويٍ منها ولا يشبع.
وقد خيَّرها بين أمرين أحلاهما مُرٌّ:
(١) بحرٌ لُجي: بحر ذو لجج متلاطمة.
(٢) غشيته ظلمات: غطَّته ظلماتٌ وأطبقت عليه.
(٣) هبَّت مذعورة: نهضت خائفة.
(٤) الليلة المشؤومة: الليلة التعيسة.
(٥) حانات الخمارين: دكاكين الخمَّارين.
(٦) يعاقر الخمر: يلازمها ويدمن عليها.
(٧) أمَّ الخبائث: كناية عن الخمر، ودعيت بذلك لأنها أصل كل شر.