Mutanabbi, al-, Abu al-Tayyib (915–965)

Syrian poet. He developed the qasida form to its highest degree of rhetorical ornamentation, and also had a great influence on the early development of Persian poetry. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets of the Arabic world.

His name al-Mutanabbi (‘would-be prophet’) refers to an early escapade when he claimed to be a prophet. He was a leading figure from 948 onwards at the court of Sayf-al-Dawlah in Aleppo in Syria.