Al-Mutanabbi

Al-Mutanabbi (915 – 23 September 965) was an Arab poet of the Abbassid era. He is considered as one of the greatest poets of the Arabic language.

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

Quotes

• إذا رَأيْتَ نُيُوبَ اللّيْثِ بارِزَةً فَلا تَظُنّنّ أنّ اللّيْثَ يَبْتَسِمُ
  • Ah, when the lion bares his teeth, suspect his guile,
    Nor fancy that the lion shows to thee a smile!
    (Translation of R. A. Nicholson)
  • When you see the fangs of lions exposed, do not suppose that the lion is smiling. (Translation of A.J. Arberry)

الخَيْلُ وَاللّيْلُ وَالبَيْداءُ تَعرِفُني وَالسّيفُ وَالرّمحُ والقرْطاسُ وَالقَلَمُ

• • The desert knows me well, the night, the mounted men
    The battle and the sword, the paper and the pen!

• إِذَا أَنْتَ أَكْرَمْتَ الْكَرِيمَ مَلَكْتَهُ وَإِنْ أَنْتَ أَكْرَمْتَ اللَّئِيمَ تَمَرَّدَا
  • When you honour a noble man, you own him, but if you honour an ignoble man, he rebels.

• ما كُلُّ ما يَتَمَنّى المَرءُ يُدرِكُهُ تَجري الرِياحُ بِما لا تَشتَهي السُفُنُ
  • One does not attain everything he wishes for.
    Winds blow counter to what the ships desire.^{[citation needed]}

• He asks from men all that he has in himself, though even lions would not claim to match that.
  • From the poem "To Sayf Al-Dawla" [1]

• To you belongs the praise for these pearls I pronounce; you are the giver, I the arranger.
  • From the poem "To Sayf Al-Dawla"

One does not attain everything he wishes for. Winds blow counter to what the ships desire.

• Those with intellect suffer in bliss with their intellect, and the ignorant live blissfully in misery.
  • From the poem Li-Hawā An-Nufūsi, Line 8

A Young Soul

[2], [3]

• A young soul in my ageing body [...]
  Hard biter in a toothless mouth is she.

• Without hardship everyone would prevail.

• Glory in hardship, sloth in comfort lies.

• Defiantly live, or in honour die, Midst slashing blades and banners flying high.

• A charger's saddle is an exalted throne, the best companions are books alone.

• Beautiful women, as experienced men know,
  Are but darkness wrapped in dazzling light aglow.
  A life of friv'lous youth and worried age,
  Its futile course to futile death will flow.

Quotes About Al-Mutanabbi

• I am embarrassed that I have translator for my works, and Mutanabbi, the poet of the Arabs, has no one.
  • Rasha al-Ameer, In other words: Why is Mutanabbi so rarely translated into English?^{[dead link]}, Egypt Independent (May 22, 2012)