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Walibah Ibn Al-Hubab (d. 786)
One of the precursors of the Abbassid period of Arab poetry, Walibah (or Waliba) ibn al-Hubab was the older cousin of Abu Nuwas and for a time his lover and mentor. Noted for his handsome features and blond hair, Walibah was a resident of the city of Basrah in what is now Iraq.
When Abu Nuwas was an adolescent, Walibah found him working in the service of an apothecary, and was captivated by both his beauty and his intelligence and wit. Walibah bought the boy's freedom and took him into his home. Walibah and Abu became close and passionate lovers, despite the attempts of many men in Basrah, including the local judge, to woo and lure the handsome boy away.
Under Walibah's tutelage, Abu learned the basics of poetic composition, and was greatly influenced by his style. He also acquired Walibah's appreciation for affection and empathy between men, which Walibah once expressed in the following verse, "Better than pearl or coral is the gesture which a man dedicates to a man." Walibah died around the same time his former student and lover was just gaining fame as a poet in Baghdad.
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