Ibrahim Kunanbayuly was born on August 10, 1845 in Semey (former Semipalatinsk) in a family of an important bai belonging to local nobility. His grandfather and great grandfather ruled their family as rulers and judges. The nickname Abai, meaning “careful” or “cautious” was given to young Ibrahim by his grandmother Zere.
As a child, Abai Kunanbayuly received a home education. Afterwards, he studied at a madrasa, where oriental languages were taught, and at a Russian school at the same time. During that period, he became acquainted not only with the poets and scholars of the East, but also with the works of Russian writers and Western European literature. Towards the end of his study period, Abai wrote his first poems.
By tradition, Abai was supposed to become the head of the clan, but at the age of 28, he stepped aside from this, engaging in self-education. A significant event for Abai was his communication with the political exiles serving their sentences in Semipalatinsk. It is also known that Abai Kunanbayuly promoted Russian and European culture among the Kazakhs.
In the 1880s poetry by Abai Kunanbaiuly appeared. He translated poems by Krylov, Pushkin, Goethe and Byron. In 1780. Goethe wrote his “Wanderer's Nightsong”, which was translated 60 years later by Lermontov. Abai Kunanbayuly translated this verse into Kazakh, after which it became a folk song “The Mountains are slumbering in the dark night”.
Abai Kunanbayuly was an innovator of Kazakh poetry. He introduced new dimensions and rhymes into Kazakh poetry. He created about 170 poems and 56 translations. Abai's “The Book of Words” or “Words of Exhortation” is considered most his famous work. The poem includes 45 short parables and philosophical treatises that raise issues of upbringing and the national outlook, morality and law.
Abai Kunanbayuly died on July 6, 1904. Undoubtedly, he had a great influence on Kazakh national culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For example, the literary magazine Abai in Kazakh and Russian, published in Semipalatinsk from February to November 1918, was named after the great poet and philosopher.
Abai's life and legacy were deeply studied by the historian and writer Mukhtar Auezov, who wrote his major work, the novel “Abai's Way”.