Before the decrees and the deadlines, there is the poetry. HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a published poet in the Nabati tradition — the vernacular verse of the Arabian desert, composed to be recited, remembered and carried by memory from tent to majlis. Understanding his poetry is not a decorative extra in his story. It is a window into the culture that formed him, and into why heritage sits so comfortably beside hyper-modernity in his Dubai.
This guide explains what Nabati poetry is, why a ruler of a futuristic city writes in an ancient oral form, and what the poet’s desk reveals about the ruler’s office.
What Is Nabati Poetry?
Nabati is the poetry of the Bedouin and the desert towns of Arabia — composed in the spoken dialect rather than classical Arabic, built on strong metres and rhyme, and traditionally recited aloud. Its themes are the desert’s own: love, pride, horses, falconry, wisdom, generosity, and the deeds of tribes and leaders.
For centuries it was Arabia’s literature, history book and entertainment in one. A sheikh who could compose and judge poetry held cultural authority alongside political authority. Sheikh Mohammed writes inside that lineage: his verse has been published and recited, and his son Sheikh Hamdan — the poet known as Fazza — has carried the art into the social-media age.
The Desert in the Metropolis
Why does the builder of the world’s tallest tower write desert verse? Because for him there is no contradiction. Dubai’s skyscrapers rose from a culture whose memory lives in poetry; preserving that memory is part of his stated project of carrying identity into the future rather than trading it away.
The same instinct shows across his rule: falconry protected and celebrated, heritage districts preserved in the Dubai 2040 plan, the Museum of the Future wrapped in classical calligraphy. The poetry is the personal form of a public policy — the past is not a museum piece but a living voice, and the ruler himself keeps speaking it.
What the Poetry Explains About the Leader
Nabati verse prizes qualities his government also prizes: clarity, courage, generosity to guests and rivals alike, loyalty, and the long view of the desert traveller. His book “My Vision” argues in prose what the tradition argues in verse — that a people’s character is its true capital. His motto, “In the race of excellence… there is no finish line”, could sit comfortably in a poem about a rider who never stops.
The poetry also reveals the private discipline behind the public machine. Composing formal verse in a demanding metre is slow, exacting work — an odd hobby for a man famous for speed, unless you understand that for him speed and craft are partners: the deadline matters because the work deserves to be done properly.
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A Father’s Art, a Son’s Audience
Perhaps the poetry’s most modern chapter is its inheritance. Sheikh Hamdan’s Fazza verses reach millions of young followers who might never open a diwan — the oral tradition finding a new majlis in the feed. The art form the father practised in the age of print, the son performs in the age of the phone, and the words remain unmistakably of the desert.
In the end, the poetry completes the portrait. The world knows the ruler who builds; the verse preserves the man who remembers — who grew up in Shindagha when Dubai was small, and who still carries its oldest art form into the future he is building for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of poetry does Sheikh Mohammed write?
He is a published poet in the Nabati tradition — the vernacular, recited poetry of the Arabian desert, composed in dialect with strict metres and themes of love, horses, falconry, wisdom and generosity.
Why does poetry matter in Gulf leadership?
Historically, poetic skill carried cultural authority alongside political power. Composing and judging verse has long been part of a sheikh’s standing in the majlis culture.
Who is Fazza?
Fazza is the pen name of his son, Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan, whose Nabati poetry reaches millions online — the family’s poetic tradition carried into the social-media generation.
How does the poetry connect to his rule of Dubai?
It expresses the same creed as his policies: heritage carried into the future. Calligraphy on the Museum of the Future, protected heritage districts and falconry traditions all mirror the poet’s respect for the culture that formed him.
