Search

, the pen-name of Mīrzā Naṣr Allāh, a prominent Persian poet of the Ḳād̲j̲ār period, flor . in the 19th century. According to a reference in Gand̲j̲-i s̲h̲āygān by Mīrzā Ṭāhir Iṣfahānī S̲h̲iʿrī, it may be assumed that S̲h̲ihāb ¶ was born during the twenties of the 19th century. His birthplace was Simīrum, a small town in the Iṣfahān district. His family had a long history of supplying military judges to the government from among its members. S̲h̲ihāb, however, devoted himself from the beginning to the study of Arabic and had an incli…

, an Indo-Persian poet of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, b. at an unknown date ( ca. 987/1579?), d. 1036/1626-7. A native of Āmul in Māzandarān, he was a cousin of the famous physician and poet Ḥakīm Ruknā Kās̲h̲ī, who had gone to India before Ṭālib’s arrival in that country. Despite the fact that his works include ḳaṣīdas in praise of S̲h̲āh ʿAbbās I [ q.v.], there is no evidence that he was ever attached to the Ṣafawid court, and his earliest patrons seem to have been high officials. Via Kās̲h̲ān and Marw, he eventually migrated to seek his fortune i…

, the much-disputed pen-name of Zīb al-Nisāʾ Begum, eldest child of the Mughal emperor Awrangzīb (1068-1118/1658-1707). She was born in 1638 at Dawlatābād in the Deccan. Her mother, Dilras Bānū Begum (d. 1657), was the daughter of S̲h̲āhnawāz K̲h̲ān (d. 1659), a dignitary of S̲h̲āhd̲j̲ahān’s reign. For her early education she was assigned to Ḥāfiẓa Maryam, a learned lady who was the mother of one of Awrangzīb’s trusted nobles, ʿInāyat Allāh K̲h̲ān (d. 1139/1726-7). Under Ḥāfiẓa Maryam’s guidance, Zīb al-Nisāʾ m…

, Indo-Muslim poet, was born at Ḳum in about 934/1528. The author of the Mayk̲h̲āna states that his full name was Malik Muḥammad. He went at an early age to Kās̲h̲ān, where he stayed nearly twenty years, and then spent approximately four years in Ḳazwīn, frequenting the company of writers and scholars in both places. Already during his youth he seems to have won distinction for himself in poetical competitions with his contemporaries, and was regarded highly by such literary figures as Muḥtas̲h̲am of Kās̲h̲ān (d. 996/1587-8) and Ḍamīrī of Iṣfahān (d. ca. 1578) for his innovative tenden…

(a.) a classical verse form employed in Persian and kindred literatures, principally Turkish and Urdu. Its literal meaning is “additional”, and the term has sometimes been translated in English as “increment poem” (cf. E.G. Browne, A literary history of Persia, ii, 41). In its most common form, it is a poem based upon the pattern of the g̲h̲azal or the rubāʿi in which each hemistich is followed by a short metrical line. This short line is metrically related to the principal hemistich, and usually comprises the first and last feet to…

, modern Persian writer dealing in historical novels. The details concerning ¶ his life are at the best sketchy. By profession, he was involved in educational activities, serving as principal of the government college Nuṣrat in Hamadān and as Director of Education in Kirmāns̲h̲āhān (for his latter designation, see Armag̲h̲ān [March-April 1930], 73). He edited the periodical Ittiḥād which was published from Hamadān in 1293/1914 (Ṣadr Hās̲h̲imī, Tārīk̲h̲-i d̲j̲arāyid u mad̲j̲allāt-i Īrān , i, Iṣfahān 1343/1964-5, 46). An article from him, entitled S̲h̲āʿir kīst …

, the pen-name of the Persian poet ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, who was born ca. 945/1538 in Buk̲h̲ārā. His ancestors came from Marw, which is probably why he sometimes refers to himself as Marwī. According to Saʿīd Nafīsī, he received a religious education during his youth, but went on to choose the poetical vocation, in which he was the disciple of Mawlānā Ḥasan Kawkabī, a well-known poet of Buk̲h̲ārā ( flor . end of the 9th-beginning of the 10th/15th-16th centuries). In 972/1564-5 Mus̲h̲fiḳī went to Samarḳand, where he subsequently worked as ¶ librarian for the S̲h̲aybānid ruler Sultan Saʿīd …

(a.), [ s̲h̲iʿr ] musammaṭ or [ ḳaṣīda ] musammaṭa , also ḳaṣīda simṭiyya ), name of an originally Arabic (then also Hebrew, Persian, Turkish) stanzaic form of poetry. The name is derived from the Arabic simṭ “a thread, or string, having upon it beads or pearls; a thong, or strap, that is suspended from the horse’s saddle” (cf. Lane, s.v.); the original meaning of musammaṭ is probably ”that which is arranged in strings (rows, lines)“ (I. ʿAbbās, Taʾrīk̲h̲ , 221; cf., however, the etymological remarks of Ibn Ras̲h̲īḳ, al-ʿUmda , i, 180, and in TA, s.v. simṭ). 1. In the Arabic and Judaeo-Arabi…

, mirzā muḥammad hādī , Urdu novelist, poet, translator and writer on scientific, philosophical and religious subjects. He was born in Lucknow most probably in 1858. His ancestors had migrated from Persia during the Mug̲h̲al period. His great-grandfather, Mīrzā D̲h̲u ’l-Faḳār ʿAlī Beg, took up permanent residence in Awadh [ q.v.] during Āṣaf al-Dawla’s time (1775-97), and became ad̲j̲utant in the Nawāb’s army. Ruswā received his early education from his father, Āg̲h̲ā Muḥammad Taḳī, who taught him Arabic, Persian and mathematics. For learning E…

(a.), the name of apoem written in rhyming couplets. 1. In Arabic literature, see muzdawid̲j̲ . 2. In Persian. According to the prosodist S̲h̲ams-i-Ḳays (7th/13th ¶ century), the name refers to “a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines ( abyāt-i mustaḳill-i muṣarraʿ ). The Persians call it mat̲h̲nawī because each line requires two rhyming letters— This kind ( nawʿ ) is used in extensive narratives and long stories which cannot easily be treated of in poems with one specific rhyming letter” ( al-Muʿd̲j̲am , ed. Tehran 1338/1959, 418f.). The fir…

, Mīrzā Muḥammad , Persian poet, court historian, epistle writer and state dignitary, born during the beginning of the 11th/17th century, and died most probably in 1110/1698-9. He was born at Ḳazwīn into a family whose members had served in the state chancery. His father, Mīrzā Ḥusayn K̲h̲ān, was a prominent citizen of Ḳazwīn. Ṭāhir Waḥīd learned the traditional subjects taught during his time, and acquired a good training in accountancy and secretarial work. He served as secretary to two successive prime ministers, Mīrzā…

(1019-54/1610-44), the pen name of Abu ’l-Barakāt, a prominent Indo-Muslim poet of S̲h̲āh D̲j̲ahān’s period (1628-58). He was born on 12 Ramaḍān 1019/28 November 1610 at Lāhawr. His father, ʿAbd al-D̲j̲alīl b. Ḥāfiẓ Abū Isḥāḳ, was an expert calligraphier attached to Emperor Akbar’s court. Munīr received his education in Lāhawr, and started composing poetry at an early age. In 1045/1635-6 he took up service with Mīrzā Ṣafī Sayf K̲h̲ān, who was a son-in-law of Āṣaf K̲h̲ān (d. 1051/1641), father of S̲h̲āh D̲j̲ahān’s wife, Mumtāz Maḥall [ q.v.]. Sayf K̲h̲ān held important administrat…

, Indian Muslim scholar who flourished during the latter part of the 11th/17th and early part of the 12th/18th century. He was the author of an epistolary work in Persian entitled Ḏj̲āmiʿ al-ḳawānīn , also known as Ins̲h̲āʾ-yi K̲h̲alīfa . According to G̲h̲ulām ʿAlī K̲h̲ān Āzād Bilgrāmī, S̲h̲āh Muḥammad’s book was much used in schools, and he spent some time in Bilgrām studying under two local scholars, S̲h̲ayk̲h̲ ʿAbd al-G̲h̲afūr and Sayyid K̲h̲ayr Allāh (d. 1115/1703). The Ḏj̲āmiʿ al-ḳawānīn is divided into four sections: the first two contain long and short letters resp…

(late 9th century-988/late 15th century-1580), the tak̲h̲alluṣ [ q.v.] or pen-name of an Indo-Muslim poet, Nad̲j̲m al-Dīn Abu ’l-Ḳāsim Muḥammad, who wrote at the courts of the Mug̲h̲al emperors Humāyūn and Akbar [ q.vv.]. According to most writers he was born in Transoxania at Miyānkāl, a district situated between Samarḳand and Buk̲h̲ārā, but stayed a long time in Kābul, whence he is also known as Kābulī. When fifteen years old he is said to have visited D̲j̲āmī (d. 898/1492 [ q.v.]) at Harāt, and spent some seven years in the poet’s company. Subsequently he went to India o…

, Persian poet, was born according to contemporary evidence, in Hamadān. His life, until he went to India, was spent chiefly in Kāshān, and therefore he is often called Kās̲h̲ānī. After receiving his education in S̲h̲īrāz during his early youth, he visited India in D̲j̲ahāngīr’s reign, but returned to Persia in 1028/1618-9. Two years later, however, he migrated permanently to India. On his arrival, he sought his fortune in various ¶ provinces, including Deccan, where he attached himself to Mīr D̲j̲umla. Following Shāhd̲j̲ahān’s accession, Kalīm entered the imperia…

(a.), a noun of place from the verb d̲j̲alasa “to sit down” and, by extension, “to sit”, ¶ “to hold a session”; starting from the original meaning of “a place where one sits down, where one stays”, thence “a seat” (J. Sadan, Le mobilier au Proche-Orient médiéval , Leiden 1976, index), the semantic field of mad̲j̲lis is of very wide extent (see the dictionaries of Lane, Dozy, Blachère, etc.). Among the principal derivative meanings are “a meeting place”, “meeting, assembly” (cf. Ḳurʾān, LXVIII, 12/11), “a reception hall (of a ca…

, Muḥammad Isḥāḳ , 17th-century Persian poet, died 1107/1695-6. He spent the early part of his life in Buk̲h̲ārā, where his father worked as a moneychanger. S̲h̲awkat also took up the same profession, but then set out ¶ for K̲h̲urāsān. In 1088/1677-8 he arrived in Harāt and entered the service of the governor Ṣafī Ḳulī K̲h̲ān S̲h̲āmlū. S̲h̲awkat was also associated for a considerable time with Mīrzā Saʿd al-Dīn, vizier of K̲h̲urāsān, who treated him with great affection and kindness, but eventually he decided to sever all connectio…

(?-995/?-1587), Indo-Muslim poet, court panegyrist of the Mug̲h̲al emperor Akbar [ q.v.] in the later 10th/16th century. Details regarding his life and career are scanty. According to Muntak̲h̲ab al-tawārīk̲h̲ , he was originally a native of Ṭūs; but most other writers refer to him as Mas̲h̲hadī, which would indicate that he might have lived in Mas̲h̲had. He was brought up in Transoxania and went to India during Akbar’s reign. It is related that he took Arslān as his pen-name because his father clalmed…

, modern Urdu poet, born 5 December 1898, died 22 February 1982. He was born in Malīḥābād, a town in present-day Uttar Pradesh (formerly United Provinces) in India. His parents gave him the name of S̲h̲abbīr Aḥmad K̲h̲ān, but subsequently he adopted his existing name of S̲h̲abbīr Ḥasan K̲h̲ān as a token of his S̲h̲īʿī sympathies. He descended from a line of poets reaching back to his great-grandfather, Nawwāb Faḳīr Muḥammad K̲h̲ān, who composed poetry under the pen-name Goyā. D̲j̲os̲h̲ received his early ed…

, Kamāl al-Dīn, Persian poet of the 10th/16th century, born in S̲h̲us̲h̲tar [ q.v.]. He is known as Astarābādī after his father’s place of origin, which was Astarābād, and also as S̲h̲ūs̲h̲tarī after his own place of birth. Some writers have called him Nad̲j̲afī since he lived for forty years at Nad̲j̲af, where he went towards 970/1562-3 during the reign of the Ṣafawid ruler Ṭahmāsp I (930-84/1524-76). During his stay in that city, he studied and taught, as one of the jurists of his time, at the holy shrine attached to ʿAlī’s tomb. The author of the Haft iḳlīm , Amīn Aḥmad Rāzī [ q.v.], describes …