Al-Farazdaq

At the age of 15, Farazdaq was well known as a poet, and though for a short time on the advice of the Caliph Ali to devote his time to the study of the Qur'an, he later returned to making verse. He devoted his talent largely to satire and attacked the Bani Nahshal and the Bani Fuqaim. When Ziyad, a member of the latter tribe, became governor of Basra in 669, the poet was forced into exile, first to Kufa, and then, as he was still too close to Ziyad, to Medina, where he was well received by the city's Emir, Sa'id ibn al-'As. Here he remained about ten years, writing satire about tribes, but avoiding city politics. But he lived a lavish and prodigal life, his amorous verses led to his expulsion by the Caliph Marwan. Much of his poetry was now devoted to his matrimonial affairs. He had taken advantage of his position as guardian and married his second-degree cousin Nawar against her will. She sought help in vain from the court of Basra and from various tribes. All feared the poet's satires. At last, she fled to Mecca and appealed to the political contender to the Umayyads Abdallah ibn Zubayr, who however succeeded in inducing her to consent to a confirmation of the marriage instead. Quarrels soon arose again. Finally, he consented to a divorce pronounced by Hasan al-Basri. Another subject occasioned a long series of verses, namely his feud with his rival Jarir (an Arab poet and satirist of renown, equally well known for his feud with rival poets Farazdaq and Akhtal) and Jarir's tribe, the Bani Kulaib. These poems are published as the Nakaid of Jarir and al-Farazdaq. The feud between them lasted 40 years, Jarir is supposed to have enjoyed it so much that when he received the news of Farazdaq's passing, he lost the will to live and spontaneously died thereafter. Al-Farazdaq became an official poet at the court of Umayyad caliph al-Walid (reign. 705–715 AD/86-96 AH), to whom he dedicated a number of panegyrics. He is most famous for the poem that he gave in Makkah when Zayn al-Abidin entered the Haram of the Kaaba which angered the Emir. The poem is considered extremely powerful and meaningful to the life of al-Farazdaq, since he was imprisoned because of it.

• Name — al-Farazdaq • Born — 641 AD/20 AH • Birthplace — Kazma (modern day Kuwait) • Died — 728-730 AD/110-112 AH (aged 87-89) • Place of death — Unknown, perhaps Basra (Iraq) or Kazma • Other Names — Hammam ibn Ghalib al-Tamimi • Occupation — Poet, Orator • Notable Works — Poem on the entry of Zayn al-Abidin into the Haram of the Kaaba • Spouse — Nawar