Overview

URFI: LIFE & POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith URFI (1555-1591) lived in Shiraz until he was twenty-six and had become disfigured in the face from small-pox he had six years earlier. Embarrassed in front of friends and relatives he decided to go to India and arrived in the Deccan in 1582 and from there went to Agra where he met the Khan-i-Khanan (Rahim) and became one of his group of poets and was highly respected and well paid for his craft. He was invited to Emperor Akbar's court because of his exceptional talents, where he stayed until Akbar died and afterwards was in the court of Emperor Jahangir. His Divan was very popular during his lifetime and consisted of 14, ooo couplets, mostly ghazals (270), qasidas (26) and about 200 ruba'is and 500 qit'as. He also composed masnavis. Most of his poems are Sufi in content. He caught dysentery at the age of thirty-six and died. He also was influenced by Hafiz and Fighani (both also from Shiraz) and composed in what became known as the 'Indian Style'. The correct rhyme structure has been achieved in all the different forms. 120 pages Introduction to Sufi Poets Series AATISH, ASHGAR, 'AISHAH Al-BA'UNIYAH, AMIR KHUSRAU, ANSARI, ANVARI, AL-MA'ARRI, 'ARIFI, 'ATTAR, ABU SA'ID, AUHAD UD-DIN, BABA FARID, BABA AZFAL, BABA TAHIR, BEDAR, BEDIL, BULLEH SHAH, DARA SHIKOH, DARD, GHALIB, GHANI KASHMIRI, HAFIZ, HALI, HASAN DEHLAVI, HATEF, HUMA, IBN 'ARABI, IBN YAMIN, IBN AL-FARID, IQBAL, INAYAT KHAN, 'IRAQI, JAHAN KHATUN, JAMI, JIGAR, KAMAL AD-DIN, KABIR, KHAQANI, KHAYYAM, LALLA DED, MAHSATI, MAKHFI, MANSUR HALLAJ, MIR, MOMIN, MU'IN UD-DIN CHISHTI, NAZIR, NESIMI, NIZAMI, NUND RISHI, OBEYD ZAKANI, PAUL, QUTUB SHAH, RABI'A, RAHIM, RAHMAN BABA, RUMI, SADI, SA'IB, SANA'I, SARMAD, SAUDA, SEEMAB, SHABISTARI, SHAH LATIF, SHAH NI'MAT'ULLAH, SHEFTA, SULTAN BAHU, URFI, WALI, YUNUS EMRE, ZAFAR, ZAUQ, EARLY ARABIC, EARLY PERSIAN, URDU, TURKISH, AFGHAN SUFI POETS... Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Lalla Ded, Mahsati and others, and his own poetry, fiction, biographies, plays, children's books and screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com