"Al-Ahwas" Al-Ansari | |
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Born | Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari c. 35 AH/655 AD Madinah, Umayyad Caliphate |
Died | c. 110 AH/728-29 AD Damascus, Umayyad Caliphate |
Occupation | Poet |
Language | Arabic |
Period | Umayyad Caliphate |
Genre | Satire, Ghazel |
Notable works | Diwan Al-Ahwas Al-Ansari (Collection of poems) |
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Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Asim bin Thabit al-Ansari (variant:ʿAbd Allāh bin Muḥammad bin ʿAbd Allāh bin ʿĀṣim bin Ṯẖābit Al-Anṣārī) (Arabic: عبدالله بن محمد بن عبد الله بن عاصم بن ثابت الأنصاري) also known as "Al-Ahwas" Al-Ansari (Arabic: الأحوص الأنصاري) or simply as Al-Ahwas (Arabic: الأحوص) was a satirical Arab poet from Madinah living under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate. Along with Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah, he is one of the representatives of the literary form of ghazel which became popular in the urban centers of the Umayyad Caliphate, but his better known works were his satirical poems, which influenced later satirical poets like Abu Nawas and Al-Jahiz.[1]
The nickname of "Al-Ahwas" ("The one that squints") was given to him due to the fact that he couldn't open one eye fully due to the tightness of the eyelid muscles, making it seem that he was constantly squinting.