The Diwan of Ibn al-Mu'tazz

A brief about Diwan of Ibn al-Mu'taz: Ibn al-Mu'taz 249-296 AH is Abdullah ibn al-Mu'taz, the Abbasid caliph, born in Baghdad and raised there away from the court and its intrigues, until he was appointed caliph by al-Muqtadir, and some military and literary leaders revolted against him, deposed him, and carried Ibn al-Mu'taz to the throne, and he pledged allegiance to him as caliph, and they nicknamed him al-Murtada billah. Ibn al-Mu'taz borrowed the manners and sciences of the Arabs from Abu al-‘Abbas al-Mubarrad and Abu al-‘Abbas Thalab, so he became a poet naturally good at bad poetry, delicate in words and meanings, but his culture was purely Arab, so his soul was not influenced by the Abbasid intellectual renaissance nor by the new culture. Rather, his influence was limited to the material beauty surrounding the poet's royal life, a life enveloped by convivial gatherings, frivolity, musical instruments of joy, singers, jewelry, and fine clothes, and the images of this life appeared, in its diversity, in poetry that exuded the scent of perfume and wine, and reflected the softness of living and luxury. He paid particular attention to similes, and although his metaphors distinguished him from other poets of his era by their precision in expressing mental images with tangible, colorful material images, most of these lacked life and were tinged with the apparent craft in them, so they appeared more material than spiritual, not pulsating with a tender emotion, but rather as an entertainment for the imagination and a cause for admiration. Our poet was not one to confine his inspiration to a single subject, but he allowed it to move freely from one topic to another. Since he lacked the genius for innovation and creation, he relied on the traces of predecessors and those who came before him from the imitators. We see him indeed in describing empty gardens, horses, and rain, following the footsteps of Imru' al-Qais, describing the dilapidated khawabi, the grapevine, and the waters of the Euphrates irrigating them, following Al-Akhṭal, and being influenced by Ibn al-Rubaya in his nighttime visits, and Abu Nuwas in describing gatherings of merriment, wine, cups, hunting, and his dogs and weapons. However, even when he imitated them, he adorned what he took with beautiful similes and decorated it with the elegance of his dazzling expressions. This is a brief overview of Ibn al-Mu'taz's approach in composing poetry.