Starting in 674 Abbad patronized a well-known poet in his entourage, Ibn Mufarrigh al-Himyari (d. 688), who played the role of Abbad's panegyrist.[5] As Abbad became occupied with his post, he stopped tending to Ibn Muffarigh and his poems, causing the poet to compose satirical verses against Abbad and his father.[5] Abbad detained him for a short period, but Ibn Muffarigh continued to insult his erstwhile patron's family in verse after he was released. He was captured and humiliated in public by Ubayd Allah in Basra and sent back to Abbad who kept jailed him until he was released by the caliph's intervention in 680.[6]