Ibn al-Farid Biography | Poet

Ibn al-Farid or Ibn Farid ; Arabic, (`Umar ibn `Ali ibn al-Farid ) (1181-1235) was an Arab poet. His name literally means "son of the legal advocate for women," and his father was well regarded for his work in the legal sphere. He was born in Cairo, lived for some time in Mecca and died in Cairo. His poetry is entirely Sufic, and he was esteemed the greatest mystic poet of the Arabs. Some of his poems are said to have been written in ecstasies.