At night, when all was still, Antar, mounted on Abjer, and accompanied by his brother Shiboob, departs for the Holy Shrine. As they travelled through the deserts, the hero's reflections found expression in these verses:
If, O tear! thou canst not relieve me in my sorrow, perhaps thou mayst quench the flame that consumes me.
O heart! if thou wilt not wait patiently for a meeting—die, then, the death of a woe-begone, wandering stranger!
How long must I defy the evils of Fortune, and encounter the vicissitudes of night with the Indian blade?
I serve a tribe, whose hearts are the reverse of what they exhibit in their fondness for me.
I am, in the field, the prince of their tribe; but, the battle over, I am more despised than a slave.
O that I could annihilate this affection of a lover! how it humiliates me!—it agonizes my heart—it enfeebles my courage.
But soon will I seek the Sacred Shrine, and complain of my ill-usage to the Judge against whose decrees there lies no appeal.
I will renounce the days when my tears deceived me; and I will aid the widowed and plaintive dove.
On thee, O daughter of Malik! be the peace of God!—the blessing of a sorrowing, heart-grieved lover!
I will depart; but my soul is firm in its love for thee;—have pity, then, on the cauterised heart of one far away!
Soon will my tribe remember me when the horse advance—every noble warrior trampling and stamping over them:
Then, O daughter of Malik! will agony be plainly evident, when the coward gnaws his hands in death!
Their journey was marked with no particular incident until they drew near Mecca, when Shiboob observed to his brother that it was strange they had met with no adventure on the way. Antar replied that he was harassed with encountering dangers, and his heart was disgusted at fighting; and he quoted these verses:
Retire within yourself, and be familiar with solitude:
When you are alone, you are in the right road.
Wild beasts are tamed by gentle treatment;
But men are never to be induced to abandon their iniquity.
But it loves what tortures it; where no word, no deed encourages it.
Having escorted the old sheikh and his family to the land of Harith, Antar took leave of them, and, in company with Shiboob, proceeded to Mecca. "He alighted in the Sacred Valley, and there he resided; passing his days in hunting, to relieve his sorrows and afflictions, and his nights with Shiboob, in talking over old stories and past events."