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Khan Bahadur Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdul Ghafūr (11 February 1834 - 14 June 1889), better known by his pen name Nassakh (Urdu: نساخ), was a British Indian officer, writer, literary critic and collector.[1] He is best known for his magnum opus Sukhan-e-Shuara (Urdu: سخن شعرا Speech of Poets) which was a biography of prominent Urdu and Persian poets.[2] He organised mushaira in places where he worked; inspiring young Urdu poets in Bengal.[1]
Nassakh | |
|---|---|
| Born | Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdul Ghafūr 1 Shawwal, 1249 AH (11 February, 1834) Rajapur, Faridpur District, Bengal Presidency |
| Died | 14 June, 1889 |
| Pen name | Nassakh |
| Occupation | Government officer |
| Language | Urdu, Persian |
| Genre | Poetry |
| Notable works | Sukhan-e-Shuara, Daftar-e-Bemisal, Tazkiratul Muasirin |
| Relatives | Nawab Abdul Latif (brother) Kazi Salahuddin Kazi Abul Monsur Shahidul Alam |
Early life
editAbdul Ghafur was born on 11 February 1834 to the Qadi family of Rajapur in Faridpur district. His father, Qazi Faqir Muhammad, was a lawyer at the Calcutta civil court and a Persian author best known for his Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh (جامع التواريخ Compendium of Chronicles), a history book published in 1836. Reformer Nawab Abdul Latif was his elder brother and Nassakh's two other brothers were Abdul Hamid and Abdul Bari Sayd who were also poets.[1][3] This family was founded by Kazi Abdur Rasool, son of Shah Azimuddin, who was said to have been descended from the Arab Muslim general Khalid ibn al-Walid and have been appointed as Kazi in Mughal Bengal.[4][5]
Career
editAbdul Ghafur joined as deputy magistrate in the British Indian government. He served as deputy collector in many places in the Bengal Presidency. In particular, he worked as deputy collector of Dacca and Backergunge from 1860 to 1888.[1] In 1868, Elayechiram Talib of Jalalabad, Amritsar migrated to Bakerganj (Barisal) to become a student of Nassakh, who would suggest edits to Talib's poetry. Talib would also write poetry in praise of his teacher Nassakh.[6]
Literary career
editAbdul Ghafur mainly wrote poetry in Urdu, but he also wrote in Persian. Apart from Bengali, Urdu and Persian, he also knew English, Arabic and Hindi.[1]
Among his Urdu poetry are Daftar-e-Bemisal (1869), Armugan (1875), Armugani (1884). Daftar-e-Bemisal was praised by Ghalib. In Sukhan-e-Shuara (1874) and Tazkiratul Muasirin he introduced Urdu and Persian poets. He translated Persian poet Fariduddin Attar's Pand Name into Urdu under the title of Chashma-e-Faez in 1874. Ganj-e-Tawarikh (1873) and Kanz-e-Tawarikh (1877) were pieces of poetry which contained biographies of great Islamic personalities. Ashar-e-Nassakh (1866) is also one of his works on poetry. His Intikhab-e-Nakam (1879) was a critique on the marsiya poetry of Mir Anees and Mirza Dabeer. Nassakh also wrote Mazhab-e-Muamma (1888) which contained his own works of Persian poetry.[1]
See also
edit- Zaigham, his teacher
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Kaniz-e-Butool (2012). "Nassakh, Khan Bahadur Abdul Ghafur". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "Abdul Ghafoor Nassakh". Rekhta Foundation.
- ^ Abu Musa Mohammad Arif Billah (2012). "Persian". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ Islam, K. Z. (2012-07-11). "Nawab Bahadur Abdul Latif". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
- ^ Khan, Muhammad Mojlum (2013). The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Kube Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-84774-052-6.
- ^ Mohammad Saif Uddin (1990). Saikat Asghar (ed.). বাকেরগঞ্জ জেলার ইতিহাস [History of Bakerganj District] (in Bengali). Bakerganj Zelar Itihash Prokolpo. p. 677.
Bibliography
edit- Khan, Mohammad Hamid Ali (2003). Abdul Ghafoor Nassakh [Abdul Ghafoor Nassakh: Makers of Indian Literature] (in Urdu). Delhi: Sahitya Academy.