'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd

‘Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya ibn Sa‘d (d. 750), also known as 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya al-Katib, was the founder of Arabic epistolary style who was employed in the Umayyad secretariat and wrote epistles which were influenced by Sasanian tradition.  An itinerant schoolmaster, he became a statesman for the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan ibn Muhammad.  He was also the first designer of Arab prose and the creator of the Arabic epistle as well as the initiator of the adab.

 

 

'Abd al-Hamid was the secretary to the last Umayyad Caliph and a supreme stylist of early Arabic prose.

 

A notable quote from 'Abd al-Hamid reads:

Cultivate the Arabic language so that you may speak correctly; develop a handsome script which will add luster to your writings; learn the poetry of the Arabs by heart; familiarize yourself with unusual ideas and expressions; read the history of the Arabs and the Persians, and remember their great deeds.

Alternative names include:

'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya al-Katib
'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd
Ibn Yahya al-Katib
Ibn Yahya al-Katib, 'Abd al-Hamid
Ibn Sa'd
Ibn Sa'd, 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Yahya
Ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd
Ibn Yahya ibn Sa'd, 'Abd al-Hamid