Zaigham

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.

Hafiz

Ikram Ahmad Zaigham

Rampuri
Born
Ikram Ahmed

Rampur or Delhi
Died1869
British India
Occupation(s)Poet, alchemist, scholar
SuccessorNassakh, Wahshat, Azad, Mast, Arman and Abdul Ghaffar Akhtar

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. 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 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 25 October 2023.
  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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