Samad Mir

{{Short description|Kashmiri Sufi poet (1893–1959)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2025}}

{{Infobox writer | name = Samad Mir | image =  | caption = Samad Mir | birth_date = 1893 | birth_place = Alam Sahib Narwara, Srinagar, Kashmir | death_date = 9 January 1959 | death_place = Nambalhar, Budgam district, Jammu and Kashmir | occupation = Poet | language = Kashmiri | genre = Sufi poetry | notableworks = ''Aknandun'', ''Kulyaat-e-Samad Mir'' }}

'''Samad Mir''' (1893 – 9 January 1959) was a Kashmiri Sufi poet<ref>{{cite web |title=CUK holds seminar on life and works of poet Samad Mir |url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/kashmir/cuk-holds-seminar-on-life-and-works-of-poet-samad-mir/ |website=Greater Kashmir |date=1 November 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Ahmad Zia |first=Rakib |date=24 June 2024 |title=Samad Mir: A Great Sufi Poet of Kashmir |url=https://preciouskashmir.com/2024/06/24/samad-mir-a-great-sufi-poet-of-kashmir/ |website=Precious Kashmir}}</ref> His poetry explores themes such as divine beauty, spiritual longing, and his ethical ideals of the Sufi tradition.

== Early life == Mir was born in 1893 in Alam Sahib Narwara, Srinagar. His parents, Khaliq Mir and Noor Khaliq Mir, were dervish members of a Muslim, specifically Sufi, religious order who had taken vows of poverty and austerity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-13 |title=DERVISH definition in American English {{!}} Collins English Dictionary |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/dervish |access-date=2025-12-04 |website=www.collinsdictionary.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

His father, Khaliq Mir, originated from Nambalhar, a village in the Budgam district.<ref name="KP">{{Cite web |last=Yousuf |first=Imran |date=2018 |title=Samad Mir (1894–1959) |url=https://www.kashmirpen.in/samad-mir-1894-1959/ |website=Kashmir Pen}}</ref> Khaliq was also a poet, and died shortly after Samad’s birth, sometime between 1893 and 1894.<ref name="KP" />

Mir had two brothers, Rahim and Mohammad. Rahim remained in Narwara, while Mohammad died in his twenties.<ref name="KP" /> As an adult, Mir eventually returned to his ancestral village of Nambalhar.

During his youth and early adulthood, Mir worked as a labourer at the Hari Niwas Palace in Srinagar. He later married and became the father of three sons and one daughter.<ref name="KP" />

== Poetry and Sufism == Mir was illiterate and received no formal schooling.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSpgDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA119 |title=Hierophantic Experiences in Kashmiri Sufi Poetry |last=NAJAR |first=Manzoor Ahmad |publisher=Evincepub |year=2018 |isbn=9789387905481}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Gauhar|first1=G. N.|title=Hazratbal: The Central Stage of Kashmir Politics|year=1998|publisher=Virgo Publications|isbn=9788185870113|page=248}}</ref> His verses were transcribed by Ali Shah of Wagar, Budgam.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 June 2024 |title=Samad Mir: A Great Sufi Poet of Kashmir |url=https://preciouskashmir.com/2024/06/24/samad-mir-a-great-sufi-poet-of-kashmir/}}</ref>

A complete collection of his poetry, titled ''Kulyaat-e-Samad Mir'', was compiled and edited by Moti Lal Saqi. The Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages has published revised editions of this collection multiple times.<ref name="KP" /> More than 200 poems are attributed to Mir.<ref name="KP" />

Mir’s works incorporate a blend of Sanskrit and Hindi vocabulary,<ref name="KP" /> and contained references of prophets, Sufi saints, and religious figures.

A monograph on his life and literary contributions has been published by the Sahitya Akademi in both Urdu and Kashmiri.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Hazratbal: The Central Stage of Kashmir Politics|author=G.N. Gauhar|year=1998|publisher=Virgo Publications|page=248}}</ref>

== Death == Mir died on 9 January 1959 in Nambalhar, Budgam district. He was buried in Agar, Nambalhar, where a shrine dedicated to him now stands.<ref name="KP" />

== Works == Mir’s works include:

'''''Aknandun''''' (''“The Only Son”'') – widely regarded as his most significant narrative poem<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSpgDwAAQBAJ&q=samad+mir+poetry&pg=PA119|title=Hierophantic Experiences in Kashmiri Sufi Poetry|last=NAJAR|first=DR MANZOOR AHMAD|date=2018-06-16|publisher=Evincepub Publishing|isbn=9789387905481|language=en}}</ref>

'''''Praran Praran Tarawatiyay'''''<ref name=":0" />

A series of '''Na‘at''' poems praising the Prophet Muhammad.<ref name=":0" />

Short devotional verses invoking prophets, ''awliyāʾ'' (saints), and Kashmiri Sufi masters.<ref name=":0" />

His lyric poems are noted for their use of Sanskrit and Hindi loanwords.<ref name=":1">{{cite book|last1=Gauhar|first1=G. N.|title=Hazratbal: the central stage of Kashmir politics|date=1998|publisher=Virgo Publications|isbn=9788185870113|page=248|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjZuAAAAMAAJ&q=%22samad+mir%22+%22poet%22|language=en}}</ref>

Several of Mir’s compositions continue to be performed in Kashmiri Sufi musical traditions and have been interpreted by regional singers such as Abdul Rashid Hafiz.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kalam-e-Samad Mir |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3rV8IheAx0 |website=YouTube |access-date=2025-12-02}}</ref> == References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * [https://archive.org/details/kulliyat-e-samd-mir-moti-lal-saki/page/n1/mode/1up Kuliyat-e-Samad Mir] at Internet Archive * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3rV8IheAx0 Kalam-e-Samad Mir] – sung by Abdul Rashid Hafiz * [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QeJ0WZZ8OTjDiqSk2AeeBso0_vH2nNiX/view Samad Mir Biography (PDF)] by Dr. Shakeel Ahmad Mir

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mir, Samad}} Category:Year of birth uncertain Category:1890s births Category:1959 deaths Category:20th-century Indian male writers Category:20th-century Indian poets Category:Kashmiri poets Category:Sufi poets Category:Writers from Srinagar