Abd al-Rahman al-Fazazi

Abu Zayd Abd al-Rahman ibn Yakhlaftan ibn Ahmad al-Fazazi (died in Fez in 627/1230) was a poet and mystic. He is especially well known for his Al-Wasail al-Mutaqabbala, a long poem in praise of the Islamic prophet Mohammed. It is commonly known as Qasid al-Ishriniyyat fi Madh Saiyidna Muhammad or simply the Ishriniyyat (the twenties) because it consists of sets of twenty rhyming verses for each letter of the alphabet. It was composed in Cordoba in the year 604/1207-8. Al-Fazazi is also the author of Epistle to the Sepulchre of the Prophet (Risalah ila draih an-nabi). The name Al-Fazazi refers to Fazaz the former name of the Middle Atlas region in north-central Morocco. It was said that he saw Muhammad in his dream, who appreciated his poem of Ishriniyya and praised him for writing it. He had a very deep love for Muhammad and wanted to travel to his grave in Madina-Almunauwara, but he died before reaching it.