Al-mutanabbi famous poems

Arab poet (c. – )

Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Mutanabbī al-Kindī^[a] (c.&#; – AD), commonly known as Al-Mutanabbi (Arabic: المتنبّي), was a famous Abbasid-era Arabian poet at the court of the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, and for whom he composed folios of poetry.

His poetic style earned him great popularity in his time and many of his poems are not only still widely read in today's Arab world but are considered to be proverbial.

He started writing poetry when he was nine years old. He is well known for his sharp intelligence and wittiness.

Al mutanabbi poems in english He started writing poetry when he was nine years old. He is well known for his sharp intelligence and wittiness. Among the topics he discussed were courage, the philosophy of life, and the description of battles. As one of the greatest, most prominent and influential poets in the Arabic language , much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide. His great talent brought him very close to many leaders of his time, whom he extolled in return for money and gifts.

Among the topics he discussed were courage, the philosophy of life, and the description of battles. As one of the greatest, most prominent and influential poets in the Arabic language, much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide.

His great talent brought him very close to many leaders of his time, whom he extolled in return for money and gifts.

His political ambitions, however, ultimately soured his relations with his patrons and his egomania may have cost him his life when the subjects of some of his verse attacked him.

Biography

Al-Mutanabbi was born in the Iraqi city of Kufa in His father claimed descent from the South Arabian tribe of Banu Ju'fa.^[4] His last name, Al-Kindī, was attributed to the district he was born.^[5]

Owing to his poetic talent and claiming predecession of prophet Salih, al-Mutanabbi received an education in Damascus, Syria.

When the Qarmatians sacked Kufah in , he joined them and lived among the Banu Kalb and other Bedouin tribes. Learning their doctrines and dialect, he had many followers, and even claimed to be a nabi (نَـبِي, "prophet"—hence the laqab al-Mutanabbi "The Would-be Prophet".

He led a Qarmatian revolt in Syria in After its suppression and two years of imprisonment by the Ikhshid governor of Homs, he recanted in and became a wandering poet.

During this period, he began writing his first known poems. Political ambition to be a wali led al-Mutanabbi to the courts of Sayf al-Dawla and Abu al-Misk Kafur but in this ambition he failed.^{[citation needed]}

Al-Mutanabbi lived at the time when the Abbasid Caliphate started coming apart and many of the states in the Islamic world became politically and militarily independent.

Chief among those states was the Emirate of Aleppo.

He began to write panegyrics in the tradition established by the poets Abu Tammam and al-Buhturi. In he joined the court of Sayf al-Dawla, the Hamdanid poet-prince of northern Syria.

Abou el tayeb al mutanabbi biography in english

Early Life. The classical age of Arabic poetry had passed by the time he began his colorful career. Born of Arab parents in the Iraqi city of Kufah, al-Mutanabbi fled with his family to escape the Qarmati Ismaili schismatics who captured his home city in , leading him to spend more than two years with the pastoral Arabs of the Kalb tribe in the Syrian desert to the west. After returning to Kufah in , al-Mutanabbi devoted himself exclusively to poetry, thus showing great precociousness from an early age. At first his models were the two great poets of the preceding century, Abu Tammam — and al-Buhturi —

Sayf al-Dawla was greatly concerned with fighting the Byzantine Empire in Asia minor, where Al-Mutanabbi fought alongside him. During his nine years stay at Sayf al-Dawla's court, Al-Mutanabbi wrote his greatest and most famous poems, panegyrics in praise of his patron that rank as masterpieces of Arabic poetry.

During his stay in Aleppo, Al-Mutanabbi found himself at odds with many scholars and poets in Sayf al-Dawla's court, including Abu Firas al-Hamdani, a poet and Sayf al-Dawla's cousin.

In addition, Al-Mutanabbi lost Sayf al-Dawla's favor because of his political ambition to be Wāli. The latter part of this period was clouded with intrigues and jealousies that culminated in al-Mutanabbi's leaving Syria for Egypt, then ruled in name by the Ikhshidids.

Al-Mutanabbi in Egypt

Al-Mutanabbi joined the court of Abu al-Misk Kafur after parting ways with Sayf al-Dawla.

Abou el tayeb al mutanabbi biography wikipedia He started writing poetry when he was nine years old. He is well known for his sharp intelligence and wittiness. Among the topics he discussed were courage, the philosophy of life, and the description of battles. As one of the greatest, most prominent and influential poets in the Arabic language , much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide. His great talent brought him very close to many leaders of his time, whom he extolled in return for money and gifts.

Kafur mistrusted Al-Mutanabbi's intentions, claiming them to be a threat to his position. Al-Mutanabbi realized that his hopes of becoming a statesman were not going to bear fruit and he left Egypt in c. After he left, he heavily criticized Abu al-Misk Kafur with satirical odes.

Poetry and famous sayings

The desert knows me well, the night, the mounted men
The battle and the sword, the paper and the pen!^[7]

When you honour a noble man, you own him, but if you honour an ignoble man, he rebels.^[8]

My deep poetic art the blind have eyes to see,
My verses ring in ears as deaf as deaf can be.^[9]

If you see the lion's canines

Do not think that the lion is smiling.

Not all one hopes achieves

Winds blow counter to what ships desire.

If you ventured in pursuit of glory

Don't be satisfied with less than the stars.[n 1]

Death

In Mutanabbi left Aleppo, making his way to Egypt and the court of the Abu al-Misk Kafur.

In the poet left Egypt, penning several satires about Kafur. He traveled to Baghdad but was killed resisting thieves before reaching the city.^[11]

Legacy

Ibn Jinni the grammarian (c. /2—/2) wrote a commentary on al-Mutanabbi's poetry titled Al-Fasr ('The Explanation').^{[n 2]} The poet philosopher Abu Al Alaa al-Marri has also written a book of exegesis on Al-Mutanabbi's poetry.^[13] Al Marri, himself an accomplished poet, would usually refer to al-Mutanabbi affectionately as "our poet".

Encyclopædia Britannica states: "He gave to the traditional qaṣīdah, or ode, a freer and more personal development, writing in what can be called a neoclassical style that combined some elements of Iraqi and Syrian stylistics with classical features."^[14]

Al-Mutanabbi Street

Main article: Mutanabbi Street

In , Mutanabbi Street, a bookselling street market of Baghdad, was named after al-Mutanabbi to honor him who, at the time, was very well known in the region.

The narrow car-free street is full of booksellers and book stores and it's one kilometer long. At the entrance of the street is an arch adorned with the poet's quotes and on the end of it is a statue of al-Mutanabbi that overlooks the Tigris River. Over time, al-Mutanabbi Street evolved into a symbol of intellectual freedom, attracting writers, artists, and diverse dissenting voices from across the country.

^[15][16]

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Owles, Eric (18 December ).
  Abou el tayeb al mutanabbi biography Policy in Favor of Palestine? View Results. Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad bin Al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi al-Kindi is known as one of the most recognized and prominent poets of the Arabic language. He even had his poems praised by kings in the middle east during his lifetime! Also, his work is so influential that it has been translated to over 20 languages worldwide and he has written over pomes.

  "Then and Now: A New Chapter for Baghdad Book Market". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 May

• Al-Khalil, S. and Makiya, K., The Monument: Art, Vulgarity, and Responsibility in Iraq, University of California Press, , p.&#;
• Al-Mutanabbî, Le Livre des Sabres, choix de poèmes, présentation et traduction de Hoa Hoï Vuong & Patrick Mégarbané, Actes Sud, Sindbad, novembre
• Arberry, A.

  J. (trans.), Poems of al-Mutanabbi: A Selection with Introduction, Translations and Notes (London: Cambridge University Press, ).

• Khallikān (Ibn), Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad (). Wafayāt al-A'yān wa-Anbā' Abnā' al-Zamān (The Obituaries of Eminent Men). Vol.&#;I. Translated by McGuckin de Slane, William. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland.

  pp.&#;–

• Nadīm (al-), Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq Abū Ya'qūb al-Warrāq (). Dodge, Bayard (ed.). The Fihrist of al-Nadim; a tenth-century survey of Muslim culture. New York & London: Columbia University Press. pp.&#;, ,
• Nadīm (al-), Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq (). Flügel, Gustav (ed.). Kitāb al-Fihrist (in Arabic).

  Leipzig: F.C.W. Vogel.

  Al mutanabbi bookshop: Abū al-Ṭayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Mutanabbī al-Kindī [a] (c. – AD), commonly known as Al-Mutanabbi (Arabic: المتنبّي), was a famous Abbasid-era Arabian poet at the court of the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, and for whom he composed folios of poetry.

  p.&#; ().

• Thaʻālibī, ʻAbd al-Mālik b. Muḥ. (). Dieterici, Friedrich (ed.). Mutanabbi und Seifuddaula aus der Edelperle [Yatîmat al-dahr] des Tsaâlibi (in German and Arabic). Leipzig: Fr. Chr. Wilh. Vogel.
• Warren, James (trans.), The Complete Poems of Al-Mutanabbi, (Cultural Books, ) ISBN
• Wormhoudt, Arthur (trans.), The Diwan of Abu Tayyib Ahmad Ibn Al-Husayn Al-Mutanabbi (Kazi ) ISBN&#;

See also

External links