Ibn al-Khatib

Lisan Al-Din Ibn Al-Khatib (Arabic: لسان الدين ابن الخطيب‎) (Born 16 November 1313, Loja– died 1374, Fes; full name in Arabic: محمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد بن عبد الله بن سعيد بن علي بن أحمدالسّلماني‎ Muhammad ibn Abd Allah ibn Said ibn Ali ibn Ahmad al-Salmani) was an Arab Andalusian polymath poet, writer, historian, philosopher, physician and politician from Emirate of Granada. Some of his poems decorate the walls of the palace of Alhambra in Granada. He is known for composing the muwashah "Jadaka Al-Ghaithu" جادك الغيث. Al-Khatib was born at Loja, near Granada. For much of his life he was vizir at the court of the Sultan of Granada, Muhammed V. He spent two periods in exile in the Marinid empire; (between 1360–62, and 1371–74, he resided variously at Ceuta, Tlemcen and Fes). In 1374, he was imprisoned for 'Zandaqa' (heresy) and atheism. He was sentenced to death by suffocation. Earlier and modern historians have speculated that his many private and political feuds in Granada with the Nasrid Kings of Granada, were probably the main factors in his treatment and execution. His body was burned before being buried at "Bab Mahruq", a city gate in Fes.He is highly esteemed both as an historian and as a poet. Some of his poems were put to music as muwashahat. He was a contemporary and acquaintance of Ibn Khaldun. His great historical work, al-Ihata fi akhbar Gharnata الإحاطة في أخبار غرناطة (The Complete Source on the History of Granada), written in 1369, includes his autobiography. This work has yet to be translated into English.