the Tripolitan al-Raffāʾ, author of the celebrated Dīwān (1).
He composed poetry of remarkable beauty.
He was surnamed Muḏẖhab al-Dīn and was also called ʿAyn al-Zamān.
Ibn ʿAsākir (2) said: “I saw him on several occasions. He was a rāfiḍī, vicious in satire and obscene in language. Būrī imprisoned him for a time and even considered cutting out his tongue, then had him dragged through the streets. When Shams al-Mulūk (3) assumed power he returned to Damascus, but word of his conduct reached Shams al-Mulūk, who resolved to crucify him. The poet therefore went into hiding and fled, later arriving in the entourage of King Nūr al-Dīn. He died in Jumādā al-Ākhirah of the year 548 AH (4) in Aleppo.”
He and al-Qaysarānī were like two thoroughbreds racing neck-and-neck, yet al-Qaysarānī was a devout Sunnī.
144 – Al-Qaysarānī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣaghīr *
The master of poets, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Naṣr ibn Ṣaghīr ibn Khālid al-Qaysarānī.