Layla bint Abullah ibn Shaddad ibn Ka’b al-Akhyaliyyah (Arabic: ليلى بنت عبدالله بن شداد بن كعب الأخيليّة) (d. c. AH 75/694×90/709 CE),[1] or simply Layla al-Akhyaliyyah (Arabic: ليلى الأخيليّة) was a famous Umayyad Arabian poet who was renowned for her poetry, eloquence, strong personality, and beauty.
[citation needed] In her early years, she was known for her love of Tawba ibn Humayyir, but her father refused the marriage, and she married a man called Abi Al-Athla instead.
This helped her to continue her relations with politically influential people, despite changing times and powers.
Her work includes exchanges of satires with Nābigha al-Ja‘dī (apparently between 40/660 and 63/683)[6] and Ḥumayda bint Nu‘mān ibn Bashīr.
Example of her poetry: المنـايا بكـف الله حيث تراها تتبـع أقصـى دائـها فشفـاها غـلام إذا هـز القنـا سقـاها إذا جمحت يوماً وخفيـف أذاها أعـد لها قبـل النـزول قراها