The mention of the celebrated Wizír, _Ibnu-l-khattíb_, brings to mind a particularly interesting figure in the history of the Alhambra, for to him we owe the composition of many of the poems inscribed upon its walls. He flourished A.D. 1313-1374. Amongst other works of the highest value, of which he was the author, is a biographical dictionary of illustrious Granadians. At an early age he attracted the notice of Yúsuf I., who promoted him through many offices of the State, until he became that Sultán’s Grand Wizír, in which capacity he served his master faithfully and long. After the death of Yúsuf, he retained his high office of Wizír under Mohammed V. for twenty years, when the hostility of his foes brought upon him the suspicion of disloyalty. He was thrown into prison, and strangled by order of Mohammed. “Thus,” says an admiring biographer, “perished the phœnix of the age, the prince of poets and historians of his time, and the model of Wizírs.”
The unfortunate _Ibnu-l-khattíb_ possessed, in the highest degree, the faculty of improvisation. It is related that he was sent on an embassy by Mohammed V. to implore the aid of _Fáris_, Sultán of Fez, against the Christians. On entering the Hall of Audience, and before he delivered his message, he uttered some verses which called forth the admiration of all present, and were so much approved by the Sultán, that before listening to what the Ambassador had to say on affairs of State, he exclaimed: “By Allah! I know not the object of thy visit; but whatever it may be, I grant the request.” In concluding the anecdote, the narrator adds: “This circumstance elicited from the celebrated _Kádí_, _Abú-l-kásim Ash-Sheríf_, who formed part of the embassy, the very just remark that never until that time had there been an ambassador who attained the object of his mission before he had made it known!”
The Mohammedans in Spain, whether considered as the enthusiastic warriors whose victorious arms spread terror and consternation, or as the cultivated race who acted as the pioneers of art, letters, and civilisation, are entitled to a prominent place in the annals of Europe. But, instead of being commended to the gratitude of succeeding ages, as they assuredly deserved to be, the Arabs have been too frequently charged with corrupting the infancy of modern literature; and this, in the face of the verdict of a high authority on the literature of the Spanish Moslems, who has declared that the material he cites proves the superiority of the Andalusians to every other nation.