Muhammad Akram Ghanimat Kunjahi (died ) was a Punjabi poet of

Persian language Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...

and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

in the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

Biography

Little is known about his life with certainty, except that he descended from a family of ''

mufti A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...

s'' originating from the village of

Kunjah Kunjah (Punjabi and ) is a city in Gujrat District of Punjab, Pakistan. History Various accounts date the founding of Kunjah anywhere from the 4th century BCE during the time of Alexander the Great to the 8th century CE. Kunjah is named after ...

, in

Gujrat District Gujrat ( Punjabi, ) is a district of Gujrat Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The Gujrat District was created by the British Government in 1846. According to the 2023 Pakistani census the population of the Gujrat District is 3,219 ...

. He was a disciple of Sayyid Muhammad Salih, himself a favourite disciple of Naushah Ganj Bakhsh, a well known saint associated with Qādiriyya Sufi order. He is reported to have travelled to

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. Kunjahi is believed to have died in 1695, and is buried in his native village of Kunjah.

Works

Kunjahi wrote in Persian using the '' sabk-i hindī'' style, characterized by a fondness for the ghazal form and an interest in realistic and sometimes erotic themes. His works reflected complex imagery, themes, and syntax. Notable works of Kunjahi include a Dīvan consisting of 250

ghazals ''Ghazal'' is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry that often deals with topics of spiritual and romantic love. It may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss, or separation from the beloved, and t ...

and the ''Nayrang-i ʿishḳ'' ('Talisman of Love'), a sentimental and romantic mathnawī poem set in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

during Kunjahi's time. ''Nayrang-i ʿishḳ'' was written in 1685, and was highly esteemed in India. The poem starts with the formal praise to the land of Punjab where the story is set. It then tells the tale of love between prince Aziz and a dancer named Shahid. The poem was translated into several languages in the subsequent centuries. Notable translations include that of Abd al-Hamid Mohmand (in

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

), Bhagwant Rai Rāhat (in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

) and

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh (, ; – 22 January 1907) was a Punjabi Muslim poet from Khari Sharif, in present-day Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He wrote 18 books during his lifetime of 77 years, especially remembered for his romantic epic poem, "'' S ...

(in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

Legacy

In popular local memory, Kunjahi was remembered as a

miracle worker Thaumaturgy () is the practical application of magic to effect change in the physical world. Historically, thaumaturgy has been associated with the manipulation of natural forces, the creation of wonders, and the performance of magical feats t ...

associated with improving mental faculties, curing insanity, and aiding aspiring poets. His tomb was revered for its alleged powers, and it became a site for interring other poets, including

Shareef Kunjahi Sharif Kunjahi ( (Shahmukhi)) (1914 – 2007) was a leading writer and poet of Punjabi language. He was among the first faculty members of the Department of Punjabi Language at University of Punjab in the 1970s and contributed to Punjabi lit ...

. The Bazm-i-Ghanimat literary organization in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

was named after him.

Editions

* ''Dīwān'', ed. Ghulām Rabbānī ʿAzīz (Lahore 1958) * ''Nayrang-i ʿishk'', ed. Ghulām Rabbānī ʿAzīz (Lahore: Panjabi Adabi Akademi, 1962)

References

Sources

* Reproduced in * * {{authority control 1695 deaths 17th-century Persian-language poets People from Gujrat District Poets from the Mughal Empire Miracle workers