“Sometimes You Have to Befriend Your Enemy”
What happened
40-second readThe article discusses a poetic reflection by the 10th-century Arab poet Ahmed bin Hussein Al-Mutanabbi on the complexities of political alliances and the necessity of sometimes collaborating with adversaries.
What else the report says
- He said: “Among the troubles of the world is that an honorable person sometimes has to befriend their enemy.”
- This statement briefly illustrates the reality of politics, which is that it is not always possible for a person to deal only with those they are friends with or trust.
- Not every agreement is friendship, and not every treaty is an alliance.
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Reported by Hiiraanweyn
- Still unclear
- What specific political contexts or examples does the poet refer to?
You are reading the English translation.
More from this report
Original report with a saved translation · Soomaali
Soomaali · Machine translated · Not human reviewed
Reader translation: English
Tuesday 11 Nov 2026 {HMC} Ahmed bin Hussein Al-Mutanabbi, who was an Arab poet living in the 10th century, and one of the most famous creators of Arabic literature, expressed in a verse the situation in which a person sometimes has to deal with their enemy, even though they do not trust or like them.
He said: “Among the troubles of the world is that an honorable person sometimes has to befriend their enemy.”
This statement briefly illustrates the reality of politics, which is that it is not always possible for a person to deal only with those they are friends with or trust.
Not every agreement is friendship, and not every treaty is an alliance. Sometimes circumstances and political interests may force you to work with people you do not agree with or do not trust. However, that cooperation does not mean forgetting the history, differences, and interests of the parties involved.
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Context and open questions
Reader briefing
Article context
What happened
- The article discusses a poetic reflection by the 10th-century Arab poet Ahmed bin Hussein Al-Mutanabbi on the complexities of political alliances and the necessity of sometimes collaborating with adversaries.
Source limitations
- The article does not provide any independently verified details or claims.
- There are no named sources or direct evidence to support the claims made.
- The article lacks responses from any parties being criticized or discussed.
Reader takeaway
The complexities of political relationships often require collaboration with those we may not trust or agree with.
What remains unclear
- What specific political contexts or examples does the poet refer to?
- How do contemporary political figures interpret this poetic reflection?
- What are the implications of this perspective on current political alliances?
Why it matters
The article does not provide enough independently verified detail to assess the specific significance of this event beyond what is reported.
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This is a single source report from Warkasta’s monitored network. The source link remains available so you can read the publisher’s original context.
- Source count
- 1
- Sources used
- Hiiraanweyn
- Language mix
- Soomaali
- Translation status
- Stored translation available for this language
- AI synthesis
- No AI synthesis is used for this story panel
Signals used: somalia · general · mararka · qaar · noqotaa