Zarkaa Al-Yamamah… The Woman with the Sharpest Vision of All Time

There are many things in life that require sobriety, farsightedness and planning, and some of us have these qualities and some of us do not possess them, but the most famous of those who possess them is Zarqa Al-Yamama. Zarqa al-Yamamah – a woman with sight – was so named because of the blue of her eyes that could see so far, and because she lived in a spacious area of Yamama. Zarqa al-Yamamah, also known as Anz, is one of the most famous Arabic legends with precious and indispensable sermons.

Blue dove and visual acuity:

The blue dove of the Jadis tribe was known for its beauty, as it was likened to the moon of the full moon night. It was said that she used to see the person three days away and there were those who said a day and a night march, so her people used her to warn them of invaders. It is narrated that there were two large powerful tribes in the land of Yamama. Many wars were taking place between them, and Zarqa Al-Yamama helped them in their wars, as she stood on top of a high mountain, in order to see the path of the enemies and their directions, and to inform her tribe of their movements, so that they would prepare for fighting, and each time she was the reason for the victory of her tribe, and in honor of her, everyone cheered and greeted her.

But one day, there was a man named Riah bin Murra, a minister to a king named Hassan, who said to the king: "O king, I have a married sister in the city of Jadis, called Zarqa, who can see someone from a march equivalent to a whole day and night, and I am afraid that she will look at us and warn her people, so they will prepare for us."

Therefore, the king ordered his men to cut the branches of the trees at night and hide behind them, in order to defraud the blue of the dovecote, but Riah replied to the king, saying, "Her sight is stronger at night." When they approached al-Yamamah, she saw them blue and said to her people: "O Al-Jadis, the trees have marched to you, and the first donkey horses have come to you, which is the army of enemies."

Her people lied and mocked her, and as a result the armies of the enemies attacked them and surprised and overcame them, and they entered the city and caught her, where the king of the enemies asked her what she saw and she said: "I saw the trees behind her humans."

Arguing about her visual acuity:

There is controversy among many about the fact that her eyesight is acuity because it is difficult for the human eye to see a distance exceeding fifty kilometers, and this is provided that the horizon is completely extended, as we find on the top of a high mountain, for Zarqa Al-Yamama, they did not see the rise of mountains high enough.

entry-icon
entry-icon
entry-icon
entry-icon

The second problem with the story of Zarqa al-Yamama stems from the fact that the Earth is spherical and not flat. This means that the horizon is not visible after about five kilometers, because it dives and bends hidden as the earth curvatles, and the light cannot turn to catch it. For this reason, it is difficult to see something standing on the surface of the earth that is more than five kilometers away from the viewer.

Blue dove and sharpness of vision:

زرقاء اليمامة وقوة بصيرتها (المصدر)

We learn from the previous story that whether our sight is as strong as the blue of the Yamama, or we suffer from a visual defect, we must remember that insight and the ability to analyze are the most important points, as insight often saw what the sight could not see!

We find this when she warned her people against invaders, and she did not necessarily do so with her sight, but perhaps she heard about invaders from travelers or spies, or perhaps she wanted her people to remain fully prepared and not to be complacent so that they would not be up for grabs for their enemy. But we saw what happened to them when they mocked her and did not take her words seriously, which led to the destruction of her tribe and her own destruction, even though she had no guilt for what happened at all. Therefore, we must always be careful and think carefully about our lives and not rush to judgment.

المزيد من المقالات