Jarir

Jarir ibn Atiyya al-Khatfi was born into the Kulayb branch of the Tamim tribe in Yamama. Blessed with effortless rhyming facility and biting wit, he entered the service of the Umayyad governor Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and Caliph Abd al-Malik in Damascus, rising to become the most popular poet of the Umayyad era.

Jarir is celebrated for his four-decade poetic duel of satirical invective (naqa'id) with Farazdaq, which captivated the entire Arab world. In stark contrast to his devastating satires, his personal elegies—especially for his beloved wife Khalidah—are celebrated as among the most tender and heartbreakingly sincere verses in all of classical Arabic literature.