Al-Mutanabbi

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Abou-t-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi (Arabic: أبو الطيب احمد بن الحسين المتنبّي ) ‎ (915–965) was an Arab (Iraqi-born) poet. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Arabic language.

[edit] History

Al-Mutanabbi was born in Kufah, modern Iraq. He was the son of a water-carrier but claimed to have noble ancestors. When the Qarmatians attacked Kufah in 924 he left with the raiders and lived in the desert with them, learning their dialect of Arabic which, according to the prevailing view of the time, was supposedly closer to classical Arabic.

He led the Qarmatians in revolt in 932 claiming to be a prophet but the revolt was put down and he was imprisoned by the governor of Emesa. For this action he gained the nickname which he is usually known by: al-Mutanabbi or 'he who claims to be a prophet'. He was released in 935 and travelled about with only his poetry to support him. In 948 joined the court of Saif al-Daula, Hamdanid prince of Aleppo, and it is under his patronage that many of his best works are written.

After intrigues at court and an argument with a grammarian called Khalawaih in which Khalawaih closed a philological dispute by striking Mutanabbi, in the very presence of the prince and without rebuke from him, the poet left the court. He joined another court, that of the Ikshids of Egypt in 957, and wrote for Abu al-Misk Kafur. After failing to be appointed governor of Sidon in reward for his poetry, Mutanabbi upset Kafur with insulting satirical poems and was forced once more to flee in 961. He next went to Shiraz, Iran with 'Adud ad-Dawlah of the Buyid Dynasty as his patron. When travelling to Kufah in September 965 he was killed, supposedly by the chief of a tribe he had insulted.

Mutanabbi's egomaniacal nature seems to have got him in trouble several times and might be why he was killed. This can be seen in his poetry, which is often bombastic.

In a famous poem he boasts that his poetry is so powerful that even blind men can read it, أنا الذي نظر الأعمى إلى أدبـي

and his words are so meaningful that even the deaf can hear them. وأسـمعت كلماتي من به صممُ

He also boasts his chevaleresque qualities of marrying scholarship with courage, fighting abilities: "I'm known to the horses, the night and the wilderness. I'm known to the sword, the spear, the paper and the plume". الخيل والليل والبيـداء تعرفني * والسيف والرمح والقرطاس والقلمُ