Hamad al-Hajji

Hamad al-Hajji was a Saudi Arabian poet. He was born in Marat, a small town south of Shaqra, in the Al-Washm Region. His mother died when he was less than ten years old, and was raised in poverty by his sister Hayla and her husband. After obtaining a primary certificate in his hometown, he moved to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in 1951. There, he studied at the College of Sharia and the College of Arabic Language, and took first exams in both colleges. Before his planned graduation in 1961, he developed a mental illness, and was diagnosed with severe schizophrenia. He was treated in Saudi hospitals, as well as in Kuwait, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and the United Kingdom, but there were only slight improvements to his condition. He died at the age of 49 after a lung disease.