The son of
Sephardic Rabbi
Abraham ibn Ezra, he was known as a poet early on in his life.
Yehuda al-Harizi said of him in his work
Tachemoni: "like his father, Isaac also drew from the springs of poetry; and some of his father's brilliancy flashes in the songs of the son". It is believed that ben Abraham ibn Ezra left Spain around 1140 with his father. One account suggests that he traveled with his father-in-law, Jewish philosopher
Yehuda Halevi, in a boat en route to
Alexandria. However, while Yehuda Halevi would settle in the
Land of Israel, ben Abraham ibn Ezra would continue to
Baghdad. While in Baghdad, he was the protégé of
Abu'l-Barakāt al-Baghdādī (Nathanael), writing poems extolling the man and his commentary on
Ecclesiastes. When al-Baghdadi
converted to Islam, Isaac ibn Ezra followed his example. Al-Harizi describes the conversion in
Tachemoni, saying, "But when he came into Eastern lands the glory of God no longer shone over him; he threw away the costly garments of Judaism, and put on strange ones". His father lamented the conversion in two
elegies, one of which was written three years after his son's conversion. == Works ==