Atika bint Shuhda (Arabic: عاتكة بنت شُهدة) was an 8th-century Arabian Qiyan musician, composer, singer and poet.[1][2]
She was born in Medina, but settled in Basra. She was the daughter of Shuhda, a female professional singer and mourner from Mecca who was herself a slave-singer for the Umayyad caliph al-Walid II ibn Yazid (r. 743–744).[2] Atika was particularly noted for her ability as a lute-player, and was described by Ishaq al-Mawsili (d. 850) as the most skilled oud player he had ever heard. She is also known to setting lyrics by Umar ibn Abi Rabi'ah to music. Atika also acted as the instructor of other slave singers, and known as the teacher of the noted musicians Ishaq al-Mawsili and Mukhariq ibn Yahya.[2]
