Diwan of Ibn al-Farid

Author's name: Ibn al-Farid

He is Abu Hafs Sharaf al-Din Omar bin Ali bin Murshid al-Hamawi, considered one of the most famous Sufi poets, so he devoted most of his poetry to divine love, and for this reason he was nicknamed the Sultan of Lovers. His father belonged to the city of Hama in Syria, from which he later migrated to Egypt, where Ibn al-Farid was born in 576 AH, and he died in 632 AH. When he grew up, he began working in Shafi’i jurisprudence, and took Hadith from Ibn Asakir. Then he soon took the path of Sufism and headed towards asceticism, and he intended to travel to Mecca outside the months of Hajj, where he secluded himself in a valley far from Mecca. Through this isolation, he composed many of his poems on divine love, then he settled in Egypt after an absence of about fifteen years. It is worth noting that he is also called Ibn al-Farid, because his father worked as a farid, and the farid is the one who imposes the obligatory duties on women before men. Through this article, we will learn more about Ibn al-Farid.

‎

Al-Farazdaq was a fanatic about the family of the Prophet, and a strong Shiite, openly declaring his love for them. When he praised them, we did not see any affectation or inclination toward self-interest, unlike his praise of the Umayyads. The best evidence of his love for the family of the Prophet is his poem, the Mimeyyah, in which he praised Zayn al-Abidin Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib. It contained sincere emotion and emotional outpouring that supported what was said about his Shiite allegiance to them.

Al-Farazdaq’s poetry is rich and luxurious, but its words are coarse and harsh. Al-Mufaddal Al-Dabbi used to prefer him over all other poets. Abu Ubaidah said about him: “Had it not been for Al-Farazdaq’s poetry, a third of the Arabic language would have been lost.” His poetry is also a historical document of many of the events that occurred in his time… To the reader is his collection… Let him go with it, entertained and singing… Enjoying the most wonderful things that have been said in all poetic purposes, in terms of richness and words… meanings… and music.