# Al-Mutanabbi's most famous verses

The verses of Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi (915–965), the great Arab poet, that became proverbs on everyone's lips: pride, wisdom and praise.

- 0 votes · 12 items
- Feb 13, 2024 · فاطمة الزهراء العلوي
- https://even.best/en/l/1794/al-mutanabbi-s-most-famous-verses

## Top 12

1. **The horses, the night and the desert know me, / as do the sword, the spear, the paper and the pen.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The most famous boast in Arabic poetry; legend says it cost him his life.
2. **I am the one whose literature the blind can see, / and whose words reach even the deaf.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — One of his boasts.
3. **Resolutions come in the measure of the resolute, / and noble deeds in the measure of the noble.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Opening of an ode to Sayf al-Dawla.
4. **If you see the lion baring its teeth, / do not think the lion is smiling.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On wisdom.
5. **Not everything a man wishes for does he attain: / the winds blow where the ships do not desire.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The second half became a proverb of its own.
6. **If you honour the noble, you win him; / if you honour the base, he rebels.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On wisdom.
7. **Were it not for hardship, all men would be lords: / generosity impoverishes and daring kills.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On courage.
8. **If you hear me criticised by someone lacking, / that is the proof that I am complete.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — One of his boasts.
9. **The intelligent man suffers in bliss because of his mind, / while the ignorant enjoys himself in misery.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On wisdom.
10. **Never belittle a small foe in a quarrel: / the mosquito can make the lion's eye bleed.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On wisdom.
11. **Live with honour, or die nobly / among the thrust of spears and the flutter of banners.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — On dignity and pride.
12. **My visitor seems to be shy: / she only comes to see me in the dark.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Opening of his description of the fever that visited him at night in Egypt.

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