Abu-l-'Atahiya

• Name — Abū Isḥāq Ismā’īl ibn al-Qāsim Abū al-‘Atāhiyya • Native Name — أبو إسحاق إسماعيل بن القاسم بن سويد العنزي • Othernames — Abū Isḥāq Ismā’īl b. al-Qāsim b. Suwaid b. Kaisān al-Aini • Born — c. 748 • Birthplace — Ayn al-Tamr, Anbār, Irāq • Died — c. 828 • Place of death — Baghdad, Iraq • Era — Abbāsid period (al-Mahdī era) and (Hārūn al-Rashīd era) • Main Interests — poetry • Major Works — Diwan

Abū l-ʻAtāhiyya was born in Ayn al-Tamr in Karbala. There are two views regarding his lineage: the first is that he was from the Anazzah tribe, while the other is that his family were mawali of the tribe of ʻAnaza. His youth was spent in Kufa, where he sold pottery. While he was selling pottery, he saw poets assemble for a competition and participated in it. Later, he composed eulogia to the governor of Tabaristan, emir Umar Ibn al-Alā (783-4/ 167AH). With his reputation growing, Abū l-ʻAtāhiyya was drawn to Baghdad, the seat of the Abbāsid court where he soon became famous for his verses, especially for those addressed to ‘Utbah, a concubine of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi. His love was unrequited, although Caliph al-Mahdi, and after him Caliph ar-Rashīd, interceded for him. At one point he offended the caliph, and was imprisoned for a short time. Abū l-ʻAtāhiyya died in 828 during the reign of Caliph al-Ma'mūn. Al-Nadīm cites the qāḍī of al-Kūfah Ibn Kāmil (d.961) that he died on the same day as the grammarian ‘Amr ibn Abī ‘Amr al-Shaybānī and the court musician Ibrāhīm al-Mawṣilī in 828-9 / 213 AH. His tomb was on the banks of the Īsā canal opposite the Kantarat al-Zaiyātīn ('Oilmen Bridge')