SOURCE: Latham, J. Derek. “Toward a Better Understanding of al-Mutanabbi's Poem on the Battle of al-Hadath.” Journal of Arabic Literature 10 (1979): 1-22.

In the following essay, Latham provides historical context for a celebrated poem by al-Mutanabbi and analyzes its style and symbolism.

1. ‘Alā qadr-i ahl-i l-‘azm-i ta'tī l-‘azā'im-u wa-ta'tī ‘alā qadr-i l-kirām-i l-makārim-u

2. wa-ta‘zumu fī ‘ayn-i l-ṣaghīr-i ṣighār-u-hā wa-taṣghuru fī ‘ayn-i l-‘azīm-i l-‘azā'im-u

With the worth of men of resolve are resolutions in accordance, and in accordance with the worth of the generous are generous deeds.¹

Great in the eye of the small are small deeds, and small in the eye of the great are great deeds.

It is with these two verses, now proverbial and as famous as their celebrated author, that al-Mutanabbī opens one of his best known qaṣīdas.² Perhaps because the...