ʿAbda b. al-Ṭabīb was a mukhaḍram poet (one who lived in both pre-Islamic and Islamic eras). Some sources say he was of Abyssinian origin. He is also said to have been one of the sons of Ḥishām b. ʿAbd Shams (ʿAbshams) of the Tamīm tribe (Ibn al-Kalbī, 247). His father's name was Yazīd b. ʿAmr al-Ṭabīb, of which the last part is given as al-Ṭayyib in some sources (Abū al-Faraj, 21/28; Ibn Ḥajar, 3/100). Our limited information on the poet's life is derived exclusively from the short account provided …