Jarir ibn Atiyah

Jarir ibn Atiyyah al-Khatafi Al-Tamimi was an Umayyad-era Arab poet and satirist from Najd in Saudi Arabia. He was born during the reign of Rashidun caliph Uthman ibn Affan, and was a member of the Kulayb tribe, a part of the Banu Tamim. He was a native of al-Yamamah, but also spent time in Damascus at the court of the Umayyad caliphs.

Little is known of his early life, but he succeeded in winning the favor of Al-Hajjaj bin Yousef, the governor of Iraq. Already famous for his verse, he became more widely known by his feud with rival poets Farazdaq and Akhtal. Later he went to Damascus and visited the court of the caliph Abd al-Malik and that of his successor, Al-Walid I. From neither of these did he receive a warm welcome. He was, however, more successful with Umar II, and was the only poet received by the pious caliph. It is said that the feud between them lasted 40 years, and that Jarir supposedly enjoyed it so much that when he received, the news of Farazdaq's passing, he lost the will to live and spontaneously died thereafter.