Abu Jaʿfar Ahmad Saʿid

Career

Abū Jaʿfar is said to have been taught by, amongst others, the twelfth-century poet Ibn Khafāja. He served as a prominent court secretary for the Almohad governor of Granada, Abū Saʿid ʿUthmān. "Unfortunately for Abū Jaʿfar, his powerful boss also fell in love with Ḥafṣa, and our poet"s position in the ensuing love triangle seems to have forced him to flee Granada." Joining Ibn Mardanīsh"s rebellion against al-Muwaḥḥid rule in al-Andalus, Abū Jaʿfar was captured and in 1163 executed.

Ho, bring her hither, happy boy,

Foreign in her presence is my joy,

But (and does love need further proof?)

I grieve when she remains aloof.

I speak upon the wine: when she

Departs, the bowl weeps bitterly,

But when the glass beholds her near

lieutenant broadly smiles for the good cheer.

Works

• Other Work

  • An example of Abū Jaʿfar's poetry, as translated by A. J. Arberry, is 'Wine, my Love':.