Laila bint Lukaiz

Laila bint Lukaiz or Layla bint Lukayz ( died 483), otherwise known as "Layla the Chaste" (Arabic: ليلى العفيفة), was an Arab poet and one of the leading poets of the fifth century.

Life Laila bint Lukaiz b. Murra b. Asad was one of the women poets who lived before Islam. Leyla, who belonged to the tribe of Rabi'a ibn Nizar, was of Arab origin. It is recorded that Leyla was one of the Arab Christians that existed before Islam. She was the youngest child of her father, Lukeyz, and stood out among her peers for her virtue, beauty, intelligence and decency. It is reported that she had many aristocrat suitors, due to the fact that she gathered many positive traits in her person. She was promised in marriage to a Yemeni prince despite being in love with her cousin Barraq ibn Rawhan.

Anthologies Moris Farhi (ed) Classical Poems by Arab Women translated Abdullah al-Udhari, Saqi Books, 1999.