Zaigham

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Hafiz

Ikram Ahmad Zaigham

Rampuri
Born
Ikram Ahmed

Rampur or Delhi
Died1869
British India
OccupationPoet, alchemist, scholar
SuccessorNassakh, Wahshat, Azad, Mast, Arman and Abdul Ghaffar Akhtar

Hafiz Ikram Ahmad (Urdu: حافظ اکرام احمد), or simply known by his pen name Zaigham (Urdu: ضيغم), was a 19th-century teacher and alchemist based in Bengal.[1] He became prominent due to his talent in Urdu and Persian language poetry,[2] specialising in ghazal and marsiya in Rekhta.

Early life and education[]

It is considered that Ikram was born in Rampur, Agra Presidency, while others suggest he was born in Delhi but from Rampur.[3] His name is often preceded with the title of Hafiz, a term used by Muslims for people who have completely memorised the Qur'an.[4]

Career[]

از عدد مدح دو تا کم رسید
Az adad-e-madah do ta kam rasid
هر چه بود قسمت ضیغم رسید Har che bud qismat-e-Zaigham rasid

 – Last line of a 50-line Persian qasida by Zaigham[5]

Zaigham migrated to Bengal at some point in his life where he gained popularity. A notable piece of poetry of his include a fifty-verse long Persian qasida. Ikram was celebrated for his metre capability. Nassakh, a contemporary Urdu poet of Bengal, praised his teacher, Ikram, on this; stating that a single ghazal written by Ikram can include up to 72 Urdu poetic metres.[6]

He was also a teacher to a number of students to whom he taught Urdu poetry. Some include Nassakh, Hafiz Rashidun Nabi Wahshat, Mahmud Azad, Hakim Ashraf Ali Mast, Hamid Bakht Mazumdar,[7] Arman and Khwaja Abdul Ghaffar Akhtar.[8][9][10] He was also a tutor to the family of Nawab Syed Mahmud.[5] It has also been said that Shaykh Haji Ilahi Bakhsh Bijan Siddiqi of Danapur was a student of Zaigham.[11]

See also[]

کامل فن سخن ماہر اصناف كلام کوئی ضیغم سا نظر مجھ کو نه استاد آیا

References[]

  1. ^ Sirajul Islam (1992). History of Bangladesh, 1704-1941: Social and cultural history. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. p. 453.
  2. ^ Muhammad Mojlum Khan (21 October 2013). "Abdul Ghafur Nassakh". The Muslim Heritage of Bengal: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of Great Muslim Scholars, Writers and Reformers of Bangladesh and West Bengal. Kube Publishing Ltd. p. 128.
  3. ^ Nizami Ganjavi (1960). دیوان قصاید و غزلیات نظامی گنجوی (in Persian). Tehran, Iran: Farghawi. p. 189.
  4. ^ Ludwig W. Adamec (2009), Historical Dictionary of Islam, pp.113-114. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810861615.
  5. ^ a b Bangladesh District Gazetteers: Dacca. Bangladesh Government Press. 1969. p. 345.
  6. ^ A City and Its Civic Body. Dacca Municipality. 1966. p. 64.
  7. ^ Sylhet: History and Heritage. Bangladesh Itihas Samiti. 1999. p. 606.
  8. ^ Kaniz-e-Butool (2012). "Urdu". In Islam, Sirajul; 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. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  9. ^ Rajendralala Mitra: 150th Anniversary Lectures. The Asiatic Society. 1978. p. v.
  10. ^ Mohammad Firoze (2007). "Obaidi: A Persian Poet of Nineteenth-century Bengal". Indo-Iranica. Iran Society. 60: 54.
  11. ^ "Mawlana Abd al-Ghafur Nayyir Danapuri". Dabistan-e-Nazeeriya (in Urdu). Shamila Urdu. p. 283.
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