War Literature in the Poetry of Mutanabbi and Khaghani

Abstract

Abu al-Tayyib Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Abd al-Samad al-Jaafi al-Kindi, nicknamed al-Mutanabi, was one of the most famous poets of the Abbasid era. He was born in 303 in the Kanda district of Kufa and died in 354. Afzal al-Din is considered Badil bin Ali al-Khaqani, one of the greatest poets of the poem of Persian literature. He was probably born in Sherwan in 520 and died in 595.

One of the literary forms that many poets in Persian and Arabic literature deal with is the literature of war and resistance. The classic poets of Arabic and Persian literature, which have shown their ability in this regard, are Mutanabbi and Khaghani. Mutanabbi has participated in many wars and has witnessed events very closely. Khaghani has also mentioned in many of his poems the wars that his admires have done. The poetry value of the war in the court of the two poets is very high and can be examined from various angles. The purpose of this article is to examine the poetry of war and resistance in the court of the two poets through a descriptive-analytical method and with a Data collection

One of the main differences between the commendable themes of Al-Mutanabi and Khaqani's poems is related to Mamdouh's war description. Although there is research in the poets ’collection about the wars of praise and their heroics, the frequency of war literature content and mention of war tools in al-Mutanabbi’s collection is much higher than that of al-Khaqani. In most of his poems Praising Saif al-Dawla, al-Mutanabi refers to his wars and struggles against the Byzantines and the rebellious Arab tribes and describes them in detail. Al-Khaqani was influenced by Al-Mutanabi in several verses, and despite his familiarity with the poems of many Arab poets, such as Hassan bin Thabit al-Ansari, Akhtal, Aashi, Amru al-Qais, Abu Tamam, Buhtri, Kaab bin Zuhair, and in many verses he named them and did not mention al-Mutanabi. It is unlikely that Al-Khaqani had never seen Diwan al-Mutanabi nor was he aware of his poems. Perhaps one of the reasons for not naming him is the status and rank of Al-Mutanabi, and Al-Khaqani does not see himself in a position that gives his poetry superiority over Al-Mutanabi’s poetry.