Ibn Sahl (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: أبو إسحاق إبرهيم بن سهل الإسرائيلي الإشبيلي Abu Ishaq Ibrahim Ibn Sahl al-Isra'ili al-Ishbili) of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...

(1212–1251) is considered one of the greatest Andalusi poets of the 13th century. He was a Jewish convert to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

. Ibn Sahl was born in 1212–3 in a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in Seville. Already in 1227, he drew some attention to himself by suggesting of adding a sentence to a poem made by renowned poet. Despite his Jewish family background Ibn Sahl was a devout Muslim. His diwan (collected works) are a testimony to his deep felt religious feelings. Some have criticized Ibn Sahl because he drank wine. The sincerity of his conversion (probably very early in his life), however, was never questioned. When Seville came into the hands of

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...

in 1248, Ibn Sahl left for

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territori ...

, where he became the secretary of the

Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fou ...

governor Abu Ali Ibn Khallas. When Ibn Khallas sent his son to al-Mustanir I, the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

of the Hafsids of

Ifriqiya Ifriqiya ( '), also known as al-Maghrib al-Adna ( ar, المغرب الأدنى), was a medieval historical region comprising today's Tunisia and eastern Algeria, and Tripolitania (today's western Libya). It included all of what had previously ...

, he decided to send Ibn Sahl with him. The galley with which they travelled was shipwrecked and all the passengers perished. The governor is to have said about Ibn Sahl: "The pearl is returned to the sea." The diwan of Ibn Sahl contains the most refined examples of Andalusian poetry, almost exclusively love poetry and muwashsahat. Mostly known for his love poetry in muwashshah form, Ibn Sahl two young male lover addressees, Mûsâ ibn ʿAbd al-Ṣamad and Muḥammad, are thought by some to represent the two religions that played important roles in his life, his original Judaism and the Islam to which he converted. Others hold that the youths were historical individuals.Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature By Julie Scott Meisami, Paul Starkey; p367 The Moroccan author

Mohammed al-Ifrani Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Ifrani al-Susi al-Marrakushi () (1669/1670), called al-Saghir, was a Moroccan historian and biographer. Biography al-Ifrani was born in 1669/1670 in Marrakesh. His family was from the Ifran tribe, a Shilh ...

(1670–1747) wrote a biography of Ibn Sahl.

An example of a love poem by Ibn Sahl

O full moons that arose on the day of departure, bright, going forth on peril’s path: My heart bears no sin in loving; instead from you comes beauty; from my eye, the glance. I rejoice though wounded by passion; mutuality with my beloved is only imaginary. Whenever I complain of my passion to him, he smiles like the hills at the pouring cloud, When it brings rain to them, like a funeral, while they, in their joy, are a wedding celebration. Does the protected fawn know he inflamed the heart of a lover in which he dwelt, So that it burns and throbs just like the firebrand teased by the east wind?

References

*Arie Schippers "Humorous approach of the divine in the poetry of Al-Andalous, the case of Ibn Sahl" In: Gert Borg, Ed de Moor (ed.) ''Representations of the Divine in Arabic Poetry'', Amsterdam, Atlanta 2001 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Sahl Of Seville 1212 births Converts to Islam from Judaism Jewish poets 13th-century Arabic poets 1251 deaths Poets of Al-Andalus People from Seville Deaths by drowning Almohad poets