Al-Mutanabbi
| Al-Mutanabbi المتنبي |
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| Born | 915 Kufa, then part of the Abbasid Caliphate (now in Iraq) |
| Died |
23 September 965 (aged approx. 50)An Numaniyah, Iraq |
| Era | Medieval era (Islamic Golden Age) |
| Region | Arab world, Muslim world |
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Main interests
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Arabic poetry |
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Influences
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23 September 965
Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbi al-Kindi (Arabic: أبو الطيب أحمد بن الحسين المتنبّي الكندي, translit. Abū ṭ-Ṭayyib ʾAḥmad bin al-Ḥusayn al-Mutanabbī l-Kindi) (915 – 23 September 965) was an Iraqi Arab poet. He is considered as one of the greatest poets in the Arabic language and is the most prominent and most influential Arab poet in the Arab world and much of his work has been translated into over 20 languages worldwide. Much of his poetry revolves around praising the kings he visited during his lifetime. Some consider his 326 poems to be a great representation of his life story. He started writing poetry when he was nine years old. He is well known for his sharp intelligence and wittiness. Al-Mutanabbi had a great pride in himself through his poetry. Among the topics he discussed were courage, the philosophy of life, and the description of battles. Many of his poems were and still are widely spread in today's Arab world and are considered to be proverbial.
His great talent brought him very close to many leaders of his time. He praised those leaders and kings in return for money and gifts. His powerful and honest poetic style earned him great popularity in his time.
Al-Mutanabbi was born in the city of Kufah in Iraq in 915. Al-Mutanabbi was the son of a water carrier who claimed noble and ancient Yemenite descent from Kindah. Owing to his poetic talent, and claiming predecession of prophet Saleh, al-Mutanabbi received an education in Damascus, Syria. When Shi'ite Qarmatians sacked Al-Kufah in 924, he joined them and lived among the Bedouin, learning their doctrines and dialect. Claiming to be a prophet—hence the name al-Mutanabbi ("The Would-be Prophet") he led a Qarmatian revolt in Syria in 932. After its suppression and two years of imprisonment, he recanted in 935 and became a wandering poet. It is during this period that he began to write his first known poems. Al-Mutanabbi had great political ambitions to be a Waali. To fulfill his ambitions he joined the courts of Sayf al-Daula and Abu al-Misk Kafur but his ambitions failed.
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Wikipedia