Ibn Quzman
Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Isa Abd al-Malik ibn Isa ibn Quzman al-Zuhri (1087–1160) was the single most famous poet in the history of Al-Andalus and he is also considered to be one of its most original. One of the characteristics of his poetry was "satire, verging on the licentious, aimed at religious experts." He deeply admired his "Eastern predecessor" Abu Nuwas.
Also recorded as Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Isa Abd al-Malik ibn Isa ibn Quzman al-Zuhri · Muhammad ibn Quzman
Ibn Quzman

al-Amshati, Ibn Rashid, unnamed Maghribi poet, Ibn Quzman · Public domain
- Name
- Ibn Quzman
- Born
- 1078
- Birthplace
- Córdoba, Al-Andalus
- Died
- 1160
- Occupation
- Poet
- Nationality
- al-Andalus
- Fields
- zajal
- Languages
- Arabic
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Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Isa Abd al-Malik ibn Isa ibn Quzman al-Zuhri (1087–1160) was the single most famous poet in the history of Al-Andalus and he is also considered to be one of its most original. One of the characteristics of his poetry was "satire, verging on the licentious, aimed at religious experts." He deeply admired his "Eastern predecessor" Abu Nuwas.
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Ibn Quzman was a poet and a national of al-Andalus. Born in Córdoba, the poet died in Córdoba.
Genres include zajal. Languages used include Arabic.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ibn Quzman • Born — 1078 • Birthplace — Córdoba, Al-Andalus • Died — 1160 • Place of death — Córdoba, Al-Andalus • Occupation — Poet • Notable Works — Diwan of Ibn Quzman • Native Name — أبو بكر محمد بن عيسى بن عبدالملك بن عيسى بن قزمان الزهري
Life
Life
He was born and died in Cordoba during the reign of the Almoravids, to a family of possibly Gothic origins, while according to certain scholars he was from an Arab family. After leading a lifestyle similar to that of troubadours, traveling to Seville, Granada and Jaén, he became a mosque imam towards the end of his life.
Diwan
Diwan
• Illustration — A zajal in Andalusi vernacular Arabic with a muwaššaḥ-like structure beginning with من يحولو ذا المليح من يدي أو يزولو كل حد يتحصر حين معي يجوز وأنا به نتخنكر داره الوروز attributed to Ibn Quzman in a leaflet found in the Cairo Geniza. Only 149 poems from the Diwan of Ibn Quzman appear in a manuscript in Saint Petersburg, which was the subject of a notice published in 1881. A facsimile edition of it titled Le Divan d'Ibn Guzman was published in 1896 in Berlin by Baron David von Günzburg. Most of the extant poems are zajals, the genre by which he earned his fame which are characterized by their colloquial language, as well as a typical rhyming scheme: aaab cccb dddb, where b rhymes with a constantly recurring refrain of one or two lines. As noted by James T. Monroe, His approach to life as expressed in these melodious poems, together with their mixed idiom (occasionally using words of the Romance languages), shows a resemblance to the later vernacular troubadour poetry of France.
Translations
Translations
The Diwan has been translated in Spanish by Federico Corriente (under the title Cancionero hispanoárabe) and in English by Monroe.

Arabic Genizah fragment (ms T-S Ar. 51.137) T.-S. 51, 137 with zajal poetry
al-Amshati, Ibn Rashid, unnamed Maghribi poet, Ibn Quzman
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Ibn Quzman was born at Córdoba.
Birthplace
Ibn Quzman died at Córdoba.
Deathplace
Córdoba.
Birth place
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reference work
- “Ibn Quzman”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q3048660: Ibn Quzman
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Ibn al-Abbar. Al-muqtaḍab min Kitāb Tuḥfat al-qādim. 95.
- 2.Josef W. Meri, Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2005, p.364
- 3.Christian–Muslim Relations. 620. 2011. 9789004216167.
- 4.Monroe, James T. Why was Ibn Quzmān Not Awarded the Title of "Abū Nuwās of the West?" ('Zajal 96', the Poet, and His Critics). Journal of Arabic Literature.
- 5.Sánchez-Albornoz, Claudio. Spain, a Historical Enigma. 176. 1975. 9788473920995.
- 6.Monroe, James T. The Mischievous Muse. 1. 2016. 9789004323773.
- 7.Samuel Miklos Stern. Hispano-Arabic Stroph-ic Poetry. L. P. Harvey, ed. & comp. New York. Oxford University Press. 1974.
- 8.Collectif, Hispano-arabic poetry, ed. Slatkine, 1974, Ch. IV The Almoravid Period, Ibn Quzman, p. 266-308 https://books.google.com/books?id=JU4EGnEEeR0C&dq=hispano+-+arabic+poetry,+ed.+Slatkine,&pg=PR19 (retrieved 26-09-2011) p.XII
- 9.Josef W. Meri, Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, Routledge, 2005, p.365
- 10.Gorton, T.J., "The Metre of IbnQuzman: a "Classical"Approach", Journal of Arabic Literature, 6 (1975), pp. 1-29
- 11.Robert Kehew, Ezra Pound, William De Witt Snodgrass, Lark in the morning: the verses of the troubadours, University of Chicago Press, 2005, p.10
- 12.Marcos-Marín, Francisco A. Corriente, Federico (ed): Diwan Ibn Quzman al-Qurtubi. El Cancionero Hispano-árabe de Aban Quzman de Córdoba (m. 555/1160). Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, 1997, 113, 158-161. 1997-01-01.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 6
- Menocal, María Rosa (EDT) /Scheindlin, Raymond P., "The Literature of Al-Andalus" (The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature) ch. 14, (EDT) /Sells, Michael /Publisher: Cambridge Univ Press, 2000
- Dr. Bonnie D. Irwin Dean, "Cooking With Ibn Quzman: Kitchen Imagery in Azjal nos. 90, 68, and 118." Philological Association of the Pacific Coast Conference. Portland, 13 November 1988.
- Artifara, n. 1, (luglio - dicembre 2002), sezione Addenda La beauté des feux d'artifices dans les séries Netflix | Parlons des feux d'artifices, les artifices et effets spéciaux utilisés pour vous faire rêver ! .
- A Middle East Studies Association conference was held in Anchorage, Alaska, 2003.
- M. Th Houtsma, First encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936 First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936 (retrieved 36-09-2011)
- "Cancionero de Abenguzmán" in Enciclopedia GER (in Spanish) http://www.canalsocial.net/GER/ficha_GER.asp?id=9164&cat=literatura
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