FARAZDAQ, AL-

((Arabic: The Lump of Dough), ) born c. 641, , Yamamah region, Arabia died c. 728, or 730 byname of Tammam Ibn Ghalib Abu Firas Arab poet famous for his satires in a period when poetry was still a political instrument. With his rival Jarir, he represents the transitional period between Bedouin traditional culture and the new Muslim society that was being forged. Living in Basra, al-Farazdaq composed satires on the Banu Nashal and Banu Fuqaim tribes, and when al-Farazdeq Ziyad ibn Abihi, a member of the latter tribe, became governor of Iraq in 669, he was forced to flee to Medina, where he remained for several years. On the death of Ziyad, he returned to Basra and gained the support of Ziyad's son, 'Ubayd Allah. When al-Hajjaj became governor (694), al-Farazdaq was again out of favour, in spite of the laudatory poems he dedicated to al-Hajjaj and members of his family; this was probably a result of the enmity of Jarir, who had the ear of the governor. Al-Farazdaq became official poet to the caliph al-Walid (reigned 705715), to whom he dedicated a number of panegyrics. He also enjoyed the favour of the caliph Sulayman (715717) but was eclipsed when 'Umar II became caliph in 717. He got a chance to recover patronage under Yazid II (720724), when an insurrection occurred and he wrote poems excoriating the rebel leader. Al-Farazdaq was an eccentric of the first order, and his exploits, as well as his verses and his feud with Jarir, provided subjects for discussion to generations of cultivated persons. His Diwan, the collection of his poetry, contains several thousand verses, including laudatory and satirical poems and laments. His poems are representative of the nomad poetry at its height. Most of them are characterized by a happy sincerity, but some of his satires are notably obscene.