Meanwhile King Zoheir was called upon a warlike expedition against the tribe of Temin.  All his warriors followed him; the women alone remained behind.  Shedad entrusted them to the protection of Antar, who pledged his life for their safety.  During the absence of the warriors, Semiah, the lawful wife of Shedad, conceived the idea of giving an entertainment on the bank of the lake Zatoulizard.  Ibla attended it with her mother, and Antar witnessed all the amusements in which his beloved took part.  His passion for her became intensified.  He was once tempted to violate the modesty of love by the violence of desire, but, at that moment, he saw a great cloud of dust rise in the distance; the shouts of war were heard; and suddenly the warriors of the tribe of Cathan appeared on the scene, and, descending on the pleasure-seekers, carried off the women, including Ibla.  Antar, being unarmed, ran after one of the horsemen, seized him, strangled and threw him to the ground.  Then he put on the armor of the vanquished foe, attacked and put to flight the tribe of Cathan, rescued the women, and obtained a booty of twenty-five horses.  From that moment Semiah, the wife of Shedad, who hitherto had a pronounced aversion to Antar, conceived a sincere affection for him.

King Zoheir, meantime, had returned victorious from his expedition.  Shedad returned at the same moment, and went to visit his herds.  Seeing Antar surrounded by horses which he did not know, and mounted upon a fine black courser, he asked, “Where did these animals, and particularly this superb horse, come from?” Then Antar, not willing to betray the imprudence of Semiah, declared that, as the Cathanians had left their horses behind them, he had seized them.  Shedad was indignant, and treated Antar as a robber, reproached him for his wickedness, and after repeatedly telling him how wrong it was to rouse discord among the Arabs, struck him with his whip, with such violence as to draw blood.  Then Semiah, distressed by the sight of this unjust treatment, took off her veil, letting her hair fall over her shoulders, took Antar into her arms and told all that had happened and how she and all the other women of her tribe were indebted to this hero for their honor and liberty.  Shedad could not restrain his tenderness on learning the magnanimity of his son’s silence.  Soon afterwards King Zoheir, to whom this incident had been related, summoned Antar into his presence, and declared that a man who could exhibit such courage and generosity was bound to become preeminent among his companions.  All the chieftains who surrounded the king congratulated Antar, and one of his friends, in order to give the court a complete idea of this young man’s remarkable gifts, asked him to recite some of his verses.

In compliance with this request he recited a poem in praise of warriors and war, and the king and all the court manifested their delight.  Zoheir bade Antar approach, gave him a robe of honor, and thanked him.  That evening Antar departed with his father Shedad, his heart full of joy over the honors which had been lavished on him, and his love for Ibla still more heightened.