MUTANABBI, AL-

born 915, Al-Kufah, Iraq died Sept. 23, 965, near Dayr al-'Aqul in full Abu at-Tayyib Ahmad ibn Husayn al-Mutanabbi poet regarded by many as the greatest of the Arabic language. He primarily wrote panegyrics in a flowery, bombastic style marked by improbable metaphors. He influenced Arabic poetry until the 19th century and has been widely quoted. Al-Mutanabbi was the son of a water carrier who claimed noble and ancient southern Arabian descent. Owing to his poetic talent, al-Mutanabbi received an education. When Shi'ite Qarmatians sacked Al-Kufah in 924, he joined them and lived among the Bedouin, learning their doctrines and Arabic. Claiming to be a prophethence the name al-Mutanabbi (The Would-be Prophet)he led a Qarmatian revolt in Syria in 932. After its suppression and two years' imprisonment, he recanted in 935 and became a wandering poet. He began to write panegyrics in the tradition established by the poets Abu Tammam (d. 845) and al-Buhturi (d. 897). In 948 he attached himself to Sayf ad-Dawlah, the Hamdanid poet-prince of northern Syria. During his association with Sayf ad-Dawlah, al-Mutanabb i wrote in praise of his patron panegyrics that rank as masterpieces of Arabic poetry. The latter part of this period was clouded with intrigues and jealousies that culminated in al-Mutanabbi's leaving Syria for Egypt, then ruled in name by the Ikhshidids. Al-Mutanabbi attached himself to the regent, the black eunuch Abu al-Misk Kafur, who had been born a slave. But he offended Kafur with scurrilous satirical poems and fled Egypt in 960. He lived in Shiraz, Iran, under the protection of the emir 'Adud ad-Dawlah of the Buyid dynasty until 965, when he returned to Iraq and was killed by bandits near Baghdad. Al-Mutanabbi's pride and arrogance set the tone for much of his verse, which is ornately rhetorical, yet crafted with consummate skill and artistry. He gave to the traditional qasida, or ode, a freer and more personal development, writing in what can be called a neoclassical style.