The story of Zarqa al-Yamamah (the blue of the dove) is considered one of the famous Arab legends, about which many stories were always fabricated, some of which were false and some of which were true, but we worked hard to bring you the true story, the main reason for calling it by this name, and the reason for its fame with the power of sight.
The truth is that Zarqa Al-Yamamah was named Anz, from the Jadis tribe, and she was known for her beauty, as they likened her to the moon on a full night.
Al-Yamamah lived in an area called Jaw in Najd on the Arabian Peninsula, and this area was later called Al-Yamama.
She was characterized by having strong, sharp eyesight and her ability to see things from very far distances, which is why she was given this name.
Al-Zamakhshari says in the book (Al-Mustaqsa fi ِAdelt arab) that Zarqa Al-Yamamah was originally called “Anaz.”
But she was called Zarqa because her eyes were blue and wide, and she had sharp eyesight, to the point that they used to give her proverbs and say, “He is more sighted than the blue of the dove.”
In the book (The Unique Contract) by the Andalusian poet “Ibn Abd Rabbo,” he says that she could see the white hair in the middle of the milk.
You can see clearly from above after a 3-day walk...
Al-Masoudi said in his book (Akhbar al-Zaman) that Zarqa al-Yamamah had one eye larger than the other. When she closed the big eye, she could see with the small eye for a distance of miles.
The True Story
Many, many years ago, the land of Al-Yamamah was inhabited by two large, powerful tribes, and many wars broke out between them. In one of the two tribes, a young girl appeared. Her eyesight was strong and she could see long, far distances with her eyes, so people called her Zarqa al-Yamamah.
The people of the two tribes were happy with the girl, as she helped them in wars. She stands on a high mountain and looks towards the enemy’s land. She sees their army coming from afar, two days before it arrives. She tells the men of her tribe, that they carry weapons and wait in the castles. When the enemy’s tribesmen approach, they attack and defeat them, and every time the people of Zarqa al-Yamamah are victorious over the attackers.
At the end of the day, the Zarqa al-Yamamah tribe gathers and celebrates the victory, and the boys and girls cheer for Zarqa al-Yamama, whose strong eyes are the reason for her tribe’s victory.
The leader of the enemy tribe realized that they would not be able to defeat the Zarqa al-Yamamah tribe. He knew the secret of Zarqa al-Yamama, which sees them from long distances and informs its army and they prepare. The enemy leader thought of a trick to defeat the Zarqa al-Yamamah tribe. Finally, he came up with a cunning plan. The commander gathered his soldiers and said to them: Every man must cut down a small tree or a large tree branch, carry it in his hand, and walk and hide behind it, until when Zarqa al-Yamamah looks from afar, all you see is a tree and you think it is like the rest of the trees, and there are many trees here as well. You see.
The soldiers carried out the commander's order. The army stood at a distance from the homes of the Zarqa al-Yamamah tribe, waiting for the commander's orders. The commander sent a man to climb to the top of a mountain near the Zarqa al-Yamama tribe to bring the news.
Zarqa Al-Yamamah looked at the mountain and said to her people: I see a man on the mountain, constantly looking towards us. I think he's a spy, now he's bending down and fixing his sole.
The enemy men began to move from behind the mountain in the direction of the Zarqa al-Yamamah tribe, and each of them had a small tree to hide behind. They walked quickly at night, and when daylight came, Zarqa al-Yamama saw a tree moving as if it was walking, so she said to her people: I see a tree walking towards us. The people laughed at Zarqa Al-Yamamah and mocked her, and she said to them:
Perhaps there are knights behind this tree! People don't care what you say,
The tribe sheikh said: There are no trees that walk or move. Go back to your homes, and in the morning we will all see how the trees walk.. ha.. ha.. ha.
However, when morning came, enemy soldiers arrived and attacked the Zarqa al-Yamamah tribe, killing and capturing a large number of them.
The victorious commander sat down and sent for Zarqa Al-Yamamah and asked her: What did you see? So she told him what she had told her family: I saw a man standing on top of the mountain fixing his sandals, then I saw a tree moving towards us.
The leader called the man who was on the mountain and asked him: What were you doing on the mountain when you bent down? The man said: My sandal broke, so I bent down to fix it. The leader said: So, you are right, Zarqa, and they did not believe you, and that is why we defeated you this time.
The people of Zarqa Al-Yamamah said: I wish we had not mocked it! I wish we had believed her when she warned us! I wish we believed her!