Abu Nuwas

“It is probably a fallacy to assume, as do some literary histories, that Abu Nuwas composed his ascetic pieces at some point towards the end of his life. Rather, he seems to have composed them throughout his career, stimulated as much by particular events and the varying demands of patronage.”

“The following complaint sets perhaps the smuttiest tone about the poet’s detainment: "al-Amin, I languish in the sodomites' prison and fear being buggered. Do you wish them to bugger your very own poet?"”

“In an ebullient exchange with the Baghdadi singing-girl ‘Inan he wrote: "Gorgeous one! – God has made your face a qibla for me, /So allow me to pray toward your face, and lets have a kiss." Here "kiss" (qubla) and "the direction of prayer" (qibla) are made to rhyme, an almost inevitable rhyming couplet.”

“He played with sacred formulae, such as the call to prayer: "Come to prayer!" is rendered, in one profane turn, "Come to sleep-together!"”

“O Lord, even though I have committed many sinsI understand that Your forgiveness... is far greater!If only those who’re pure can hope for Your mercy:whom else can one be seeking help, for the sinner?Lord, I’m humbly asking You, like You told me to:who will pity me if of my hand, You’re not a taker?There is no other way I have to You, but the hopethat as a Muslim You will be You... the Forgiver!”

“Auspicious stars had risen on this nightWhen drunkard assaulted drunkardWe passed the time kowtowing to the Devil,Until the monks sounded the bells at dawnAnd [a young adolescent] left, dragging delightful robesWhich I had stained with my iniquitous behavior,Saying, "O woe!" as tears overcame him,"You have torn away the [dignity] I had preserved."I replied, "A lion saw a gazelle and lunged at it;Such is the variety of Fate’s vicissitudes!"”

“Say, then, to whom affects learning in philosophyKnowing one thing doesn’t comprise an educationDon’t forbid others what you choose to eschewFor prohibition is, in religion, desecration”

“Poured from the palm of a girl dressed as boyAn intrigue for one of any orientationShe lifts the carafe against the black nightHer face lit with brilliant radiationSending from the jug’s lip a stream so brightThat eyes, in its glare, close as in sedationWine so fine, so pure and delicateTo add water would be contaminationWith light alone may it be mixedGiving off dazzling illumination”

“دَعْ عَنْكَ لَوْمِي فَإنَّ اللَّوْمَ إغْرَاءُ”

“ألا فاسقِني خمراً، وقل لي: هيَ الخمرُ     ولا تسقني سرّاً إذا أمكن الجهرُ”

“There are no poems on wine equal to my own, and to my amatory compositions all others must yield.”