Al-Mutanabbi praises Saif al-Dawla

About the prophet

He is Abu al-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Hussein al-Mutanabi, he was born in the city of Kufa in the year 303 AH, and he is a poet who became famous in the tenth century AD, as he expressed in his poetry the feelings of sadness, depression, and self-esteem that stirred in the human soul, and his poems transcended distances and times to reach To the Arab soul in every place and time, and it is worth noting that Al-Mutanabbi lived in a turbulent time, not to mention the sorrow left in him by some events in the life he was living, and this was reflected in his poetry; His father was not significant in that period, while his mother died in his childhood, in addition to that he had been raised by his grandmother, who was affected by her death, and with regard to why he was called Al-Mutanabi; It was said that it was the result of verses of poetry he said, which led to his accusation of claiming prophecy, as he was imprisoned following that incident in the year 322 AH. He was also known to praise the princes, such as Saif al-Dawla al-Hamdani, and it must be mentioned that al-Mutanabbi died murdered. In retaliation for his insulting a man called (Dabbeh), his envied son died, and all those who were with him from the servants and companions that day.

Al-Mutanabbi praises Saif al-Dawla

Al-Mutanabbi knew Saif al-Dawla before he met him or saw him. Where he heard a lot about his virtues and virtues that extended outside Aleppo, knowing that he was introduced to him by Abi Al-Ashaer (a cousin of Saif Al-Dawla, and the governor of Antioch), when Al-Mutanabi offered him to praise him in his poetry, so Saif Al-Dawla welcomed him and included him in his court. One of his most loyal friends and companions, and immersed himself in the life lived by Sayf al-Dawla, and shared his conquests and wars with him. Rather, he devoted his life defending him against his enemies and those who slandered him. Al-Mutanabbi succeeded in obtaining a high position in the court of the Emir, which engulfed him in the hearts of his companions and his envy. And many of his haters, and those who hold grudges against him in their hearts.

His envious people, such as the poet Abu Firas al-Hamdani, tried to bring them together, and they succeeded in that, so they caused a rift and a rift between him and Saif al-Dawla, after which his stay between his confidants and those sitting did not last long. Where Al-Mutanabbi provoked a petty quarrel in the court, and Saif al-Dawla did not win for him, and he did not take his right, which Al-Mutanabbi considered a betrayal and an insult to him, so he left him to Egypt without enthusiasm. To meet the offer of Abi Al-Musk Camphor, he stayed with him, and became close to him, as his praise became his own, and Al-Mutanabi was seeking to do so; To obtain a military mandate in Sidon, but what he was seeking was not achieved, so he decided to leave Egypt, and secretly prepared for his departure, then returned to Kufa, where he was born, and then moved to Baghdad, and it seems that he was very nostalgic for Saif al-Dawla, but he He abandoned this idea, especially since the military setbacks had befallen the prince in his wars against the Byzantines.

Al-Mutanabbi's poems in praise of Saif al-Dawla

Among the most prominent poems that al-Mutanabbi said in praising Saif al-Dawla was the poem (On the Destiny of the People of Determination), in which he stated:

According to the people of determination comes the determination

And it comes as much honorable honorable

And in the eyes of the young she magnifies her young

And get smaller in the eyes of the great

Saif al-Dawla burdens the army

The veteran armies failed him

And he asks for what he has from people

And that is what the dams do not claim

Al-Mutanabbi continued to praise Saif al-Dawla al-Hamdani, when he spoke about the event (it is a castle built by Saif al-Dawla in the land of the Romans, and it was called al-Hamra because it was colored by the blood of the Romans), and he said:

Does the red juvenile know its color?

And you know which of the cloudy legs

The deep cloud brought her before it descended

When he came close to her, the skulls drove her away.

He built it higher, and the channel knocks on the channel

And the waves of beacon crashing around her

It is worth noting that Al-Mutanabbi continues to praise Saif al-Dawla, and shows the extent of his courage and toughness in fighting. He says in selected verses from his own poem:

I stood and there was no doubt about death for a standing person

As if you were in the eyelids of the ashes while he was sleeping

Heroes pass you by as defeat

And your face is clear, and your mouth is in the name of

You joined their wings over the heart as a hug

The nostrils die under it and the primaries

And whoever asks for the great conquest, it is only

Its keys are white, pumice, and swarm

The reasons for the rise of poetry in the court of Sayf al-Dawla

Among the most important factors that made Sayf al-Dawla’s court a meeting place for poets and writers are the following:

• Personality of Saif al-Dawla: Where Saif al-Dawla belongs to a family with history and glories, and his star shone; Because of his courage, his ability to organize armies, and his heroism in his wars against the Romans, and his preservation of sanctities and Arab frontiers at a time when the Abbasid caliphate was disjointed and weak, he was like the remaining honor for Muslims and Arabs.
• Aleppo nature: Aleppo was known for its charming nature, and this is what made poets compete to describe it in their poems, so the prince created an atmosphere for the arts when he built the ring palace, which historians unanimously agree is one of the most beautiful and greatest palaces.
• Sayf al-Dawla's culture: Saif al-Dawla grew up in a wealthy family, which provided him with the means of culture and civilization, so he became a student at the hands of the most prominent professors and teachers, and this was reflected in his speeches, actions, and thoughts, as he desired that Aleppo be the city of scholars, writers, and poets. For science, philosophy, and literature to flourish.
• Karam Seif al-Dawla: The generosity of Sayf al-Dawla is considered one of the important reasons for attracting poets and writers from all over the country, as they scrutinized and refined their works. In order to gain the love of Sayf al-Dawla and his gifts, bearing in mind that his gifts were not limited to famous poets, but also included the obscure ones.
• The spirit of competition in the court of Sayf al-Dawla: Sayf al-Dawla had a tremendous ability to stir up the spirit of competition among poets, as he used to provoke their talents and encourage them to give, so he would sometimes say a verse of poetry and ask them to approve it.