'Utba, al-Khayzuran's maid

Utba, a slave-girl of al-Khayzuran. al-Mas'udi reports that Abu al-Atahiya wrote much of love poetry about her, until she complained of him to her mistress, and al-Mahdi had him flogged ².

When she saw him flogged, her tears flowed. When al-Mahdi was about to hand her over to him, she said that she would not be content to be handed to a jar-seller who earns a living by poetry. She told him that if he were in love with Utba, he would have been occupied away from gold and silver ².