Born: Kufa, Iraq, in 303 ah/915 ce. Education: Educated in Kufa, Iraq, and Syria. Family: One known son, Muhassad. Career: Worked as a minor panegyrist in Baghdad; led a political and religious Bedouin revolt in Syria and was imprisoned in 322 ah/933 ce; worked as a panegyrist for the Hamdanid ruler Sayf al-Dawlah in Aleppo, Syria, beginning 337 ah/948 ce; fled the Hamdanid court and worked as a panegyrist for the Ikhshidid ruler Kafur in Fustat, Egypt, then fled the Ikhshidid court and worked as a panegyrist for the Buwayhid ruler Adud al-Dawlah in Shiraz, Iran, beginning 354 ah/965 ce. Died: Killed when his party was attacked as he returned from Iran to Iraq in 354 ah/965 ce
Publications
Collections
Diwan al-Mutanabbi (poems), c. 354 AH/965 CE; Poems of al-Mutanabbi, translated by A. J. Arberry, 1967.
Critical Studies:
Un poete arabe du IVe siecle de l’Hegire (Xe siecle de J.-C.): Abou t-Tayyib al-Motanabbi by Regis Blachere, 1935; Dhikra Abi al-Tayyib ba’d alf’am by ‘Abd al-Wahhab ‘Azzam, 1936; Ma’a al-Mutanabbi by Taha Husayn, 1936; al-Mutanabbi by Mahmud Muhammad Shakir, 1977; al-Harb wa-al-furusiyah fi shi’r Abi al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi by Husni Khidr Said; Mimiyat al-Mutanabbi: majallat al-ibda’ wa-tabi’at al-mu’alajah by Mayy Yusuf Khulayyif; The Composition of Mutanabbi’s Panegyrics to Sayf al-Dawla by Andras Hamori, 1992; al-Badi’ fi shi’r al-Mutanabbi by Munir Sultan, 1993.
Al-Mutanabbi is the last of the four great panegyric poets in classical Arabic literature of the Islamic period. Because lyric genres, and panegyric poetry in particular, were among the most important literary forms of this period, al-Mutanabbi is considered to be a major figure in the classical Arabic heritage. His place in the tradition is the result of his innovative yet carefully crafted poetic language and his vivid portrayal of members of the elite and major events. The lyric genre used by al-Mutanabbi is known as the qasidah, a metered, monorhyme poem of about 20-100 bipartite verses.
Like many renowned Arab poets of this period, al-Mutanabbi is said to have gained his command of poetic language from time spent in the desert with pastoral Arab tribes. Whether or not this is literally true, it is certain that this theme in biographies of al-Mutanabbi emphasizes his position in a tradition that traces its roots back to the Arab tribes of pre-Islamic Arabia. Another reflection of al-Mutanabbi’s position in the Arab poetic tradition is the range of commentaries on his poetry in general and on the difficult passages in particular, ranging from the eleventh century commentator al-Wahidi to the twentieth century commentator al-Barquqi. Finally, the large number of classical polemical works that praise, blame, and analyze al-Mutanabbi’s poetry, such as the works of Ibn Waki’ and al-Sahib ibn ‘Abbad, display his importance in debates about the roles of mannerism, intertextuality, and innovation in the poetic tradition. Al-Mutanabbi’s role in these debates echoes that of his predecessor Abu Tammam (d. 231 ah/850 ce), whose mannerist style appears to have influenced al-Mutanabbi’s own approach to convention and innovation.
Although al-Mutanabbi praised a number of patrons over the course of his career, he is best known for his bold and heroic portrayals of the Hamdanid ruler Sayf al-Dawlah of Aleppo, Syria. Sayf al-Dawlah’s numerous military campaigns on the nearby border with Byzantium provided ample material for panegyric. Perhaps the most famous of his panegyrics to Sayf al-Dawlah is his poem composed on the occasion of the siege of al-Hadath. His vivid use of figurative language and rhetorical devices contributes to the coherence of the poem and dramatizes the event that it depicts. Al-Mutanabbi’s panegyrics are noteworthy for their frequent departure from the convention of beginning with a description of a love affair, instead beginning with gnomic statements and moving quickly to the serious events of the poem. Some biographers have linked his penchant for gnomic statements to his early exposure to and participation in Isma’ili movements, which is said to be the source of his nickname al-Mutanabbi, ”the one who claims to be a prophet.”
Like most panegyric poets of this period, al-Mutanabbi included invective and elegy in his repertoire, usually as a component of patronage relationships. His invectives against Kafur, the Ikhshidid ruler of Fustat, Egypt (near Cairo), which he composed as their patronage relationship deteriorated, are particularly well known. While problematic patronage relationships were not uncommon in this period, al-Mutanabbi’s break with Sayf al-Dawlah and his subsequent break with Kafur indicate his power in court life and the tensions that it brought to his relationships. As for elegy, al-Mutanabbi’s graceful poems in honor of Sayf al-Dawlah’s mother, as well as a poem for his own grandmother, show that his abilities were not limited to the heroic mode of battle and court life.
Al-Mutanabbi’s position as one of the four great panegyrists of the Islamic period has remained relatively stable throughout the intervening centuries and down to the present day. His place in school and university study of Arabic literature, as well as the constant stream of books and articles about him in Arabic and other languages, is testimony to his lasting impact on the Arabic literary tradition.
