Poet: Maulana Amir Usmani
Recitation: Mohd. Itqan

Kyun Hue Qatl Hum Par Yeh Ilzaam

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of al-Mutanabbī, whose poetry continues to inspire.  Timestamps 01:44 Al-Mutanabbī was born in 915CE in the city Kufah in modern day Iraq at the height of the Abbasid caliphate but with rising challenges from sectarian foes. What do we know about his&nbsp; socio-political context? 05:34 Al-Mutanabbī was educated in Damascus and is said to have participated in Qaramatian revolts which we covered in  with Dr. Andani. What do we know about al-Mutanabbī’s life and what is the origin of his name? 19:22 Al-Mutanabbī is particularly known as being the court poet of Sayf al-Dawlaḧ, ruler of Aleppo. How would you characterise his works? 22:15 In February 2021, NASA tweeted some lines by al-Mutanabbī to congratulate the UAE satellite reaching Mars. Al-Mutanabbī’s reputation has now reached across the stars. That would have been very appealing to his reputed big head. How do we assess his legacy? 30:18 Finally, let's end with a sample and translation. This is the seventh part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes.  For more on our guest, see   Sponsored by&nbsp; Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.

✒EP033 Dr. Kevin Blankinship on al-Mutanabī (c.915-965CE): 'the Shakespeare of the Arabs.' Part 7 of 12 - Spring of Classical Arabic Poetry

"I am a Jew"
Shylock's Monologue
The Merchant of Venice
Act 3, Scene 1
Performer: Monib

I am a Jew - Shylock's Monologue - The Merchant of Venice

Poem: by Al-Mutanabbi
Recitation: by Saif

This is an excerpt from a poem by the legendary Arabian poet Al-Mutanabbi. His full name was Abū al-Tayyib Aḥmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mutanabbī al-Kindī (Arabic: أبو الطيب أحمد بن الحسين المتنبّي الكندي; c. 915 – 23 September 965 AD) from Kufa, Abbasid Caliphate, was a famous Abbasid-era Arab poet at the court of the Hamdanid emir Sayf al-Dawla in Aleppo, and for whom he composed 300 folios of poetry.[1][2][3] His poetic style earned him great popularity in his time and many of his poems are not only still widely read in today's Arab world but are considered to be proverbial.

Source: Wikipedia

Translation:

When the lion bares his teeth,
do not fancy that the lion shows to you a smile.

I have slain the man that sought my heart's blood many a time.
Riding a noble mare whose back none else may climb,

Whose hind and fore-legs seem in galloping as one
Nor hand nor foot requireth she to urge her on.

And O the days when I have swung my fine-edged glaive
Amidst a sea of death where wave was dashed on wave!

The steed, the night and the desert know me well
As do the sword, the battle and the paper, and the pen

Al-Mutanabbi - The Steed, the night and the Desert Know Me Well

An excerpt from the book Parvaiz-e-takhayyul (The Elevation of Reason) by Dr. Arif Ali. An Urdu book for children on the history of the Nobel prize. Dr. Arif Ali is a renowned molecular biologist and the founder of the Department of Biotechnology at Jamia Millia Islamia. 

Published by the historic Inami Kitab Ghar under the aegis of Barkat Ali Firaq Trust for Education and Research. New Delhi, India.

Book Release - Parvaz-e-takhayyul, by Dr. Arif Ali (Excerpt in author's voice)

The mu’allaqat — literally, the ‘hanging ones’ — are several widely renowned poems of the pre-Islamic Arabic corpus, so named because they’re said to have adorned the walls of the Ka’ba, that holy religious site which, even then, was a center of widespread worship and pilgrimage.

Imru’ al-Qays was a 6th century warrior-poet who composed one of the mu’allaqat, and who, like many of his contemporaries, focused on themes relating to Arab chivalry: the seduction of woman, taming of great beasts, skill with swords and arrows, and victory in battles.

قِفَا نَبْكِ مِنْ ذِكْرَى حَبِيبٍ ومَنْزِلِ/ بِسِقْطِ اللِّوَى بَيْنَ الدَّخُول فَحَوْمَلِ

    Let’s stop and cry over the memory of a lover and a place, in the drop of the valley between Dakhul and Haumal.

فَتُوْضِحَ فَالمِقْراةِ لمْ يَعْفُ رَسْمُها / لِمَا نَسَجَتْهَا مِنْ جَنُوبٍ وشَمْألِ

    And Taudih and Mikrat. Its traces haven’t been wiped out from what weaved them back and forth of the south and northern winds

Imr-ul Qays - Al Muallaqa - Excerpt (Stop, let us weep)

Lab Pe Aati Hai Dua | A Child's Prayer by Iqbal

Chicago Mawlid Committee
Ibrahim and Mouaz Al Nass
إبراهيم ومعاذ النص 

ظهر الدين المؤيد بظهور الهادي أحمد 
يا هنانا بمحمد ذلك الفضل من الله 

يا هنانا يا هنانا يا هنانا يا هنانا

خص بالسبع المثاني وحوى لطف المعاني
ماله في الخلق ثاني وعليه أنزل الله 

من مكة لما ظهر لأجله انشق القمر 
وافتخرت آل مضر به على كل الأنام

أطيب العالم خلقا وأجل الناس خلقا
ذكره شرقا وغربا سائر والحمد لله 

صلو على خير الأنام المصطفى البدر التمام
صلو عليه وسلمو يشفع لنا يوم الزحام 

 ---------------------------------------------------

طالما أشكو غرامي يا نور الوجود 
وأنادي يا تهامي يا معدن الجود


Ya Hanana ظهر الدين المؤيد بظهور الهادي أحمد، طالما أشكو غرامي

Urdu - The Last Sermon (Khutbah) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (Farewell Sermon)

Cultivating One's Environment to Develop the Inner Self - Shaykh Yahya Rhodus

Batla House Theatre is an online podcast radio committed to the dissemination of beneficial knowledge. We see "benefit" as a synergy of economic and spiritual benefit.

Al-Mutanabbi - The Steed, the night and the Desert Know Me Well

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