Ibn Khafaja

Abu Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Abu al-Fath, called Ibn Khafajah, a native of Alzira, was a poet of al-Andalus during the reign of the Almoravids. He was born in 1058 in Alzira near Valencia where he spent most of his life. He was the maternal uncle of poet Ibn al-Zaqqaq.
He wrote sophisticated nature poetry. He remained unmarried but had many friends and lived to be over eighty.There is a style based on him afterwards followed by many known as 'khafājī'.
His poetry often uses images to a dramatic function, such as contrasting light and darkness, or humanising the night environment.
Composer Mohammed Fairouz set three poems of Ibn Khafajah to music in a cycle of vocal chamber music written for the Cygnus Ensemble.