ABU NUWAS

also spelled Abu Nu'as, in full Abu Nuwas Al-hasan Ibn Hani' Al-hakami born c. 747, -762, Ahvaz, Iran died c. 813, -815, Baghdad important poet of the early 'Abbasid period (750-835). Abu Nuwas, of mixed Arab and Persian heritage, studied in Basra and al-Kufah, first under the poet Walibah ibn al-Hubab, later under Khalaf al-Ahmar. He also studied the Qur'an (Islamic sacred scripture), Hadith (traditions relating to the life and utterances of the Prophet), and grammar and is said to have spent a year with the Bedouins in the desert to acquire their traditional purity of language. Abu Nuwas' initial appearance at the 'Abbasid court in Baghdad met with little success; his alliance with the Barmakids, the 'Abbasid viziers, forced him to seek refuge in Egypt when the Barmakid dynasty collapsed. On his return to Baghdad, however, his panegyrics earned the favour of the caliphs Harun ar-Rashid and al-Amin, and he enjoyed great success in the 'Abbasid court until his death. The language of Abu Nuwas' formal odes (qasidas) is grammatically sound and based on the old Arab traditions; his themes, however, are drawn from urban life, not the desert. He is particularly renowned for his poems on wine and pederasty. His verse is laced with humour and irony, reflecting the genial yet cynical outlook of the poet, who spent much of his life in pursuit of pleasure.