Mir Muhammad Salih Tirmidhi

Mīr Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ Tirmidhī Ḥusaynī Akbarābādī (Persian: میرمحمدصالح ترمذی حسینی اکبرآبادی) whose pen names were Kashfī and Subḥānī, was an Iranian Muhaddith, poet and calligrapher, among the mystics of Qadiri order of India in eleventh/seventeenth century who showed Shi'a tendencies in his works. He wrote some works about the Prophet (s) and Imams (a) of Shi'a, one of which was Manaqib-i Murtadawi. In this work, which is a mixture of poetry and prose, al-Tirmidhi discussed about the merits and virtues of Imam Ali (a).

Biography

His forefathers went to India at the time of Timurid Shah Rukh (779/1377-8 – 850/1446-7). He was among the contemporaries of Shaykh al-Baha'i and son of 'Abd Allah Wasfi Mishkin Qalam. His father was the famous poet and calligrapher of the court of Akbar I and his son, Jahangir, and was considered a famous Shaykh of Ni'matullahiya order in Delhi. The lineage of Mir Muhammad Salih reached Shah Ni'matullah Wali with some generations in between.

He passed away in Agra, India and was buried there.

Artistic Sense

Mir Muhammad Salih composed poems in both Persian and Urdu. In his Persian poems, his pen name was Kashfi and in his Urdu poems his pen name was Subhani (or Subhan). He wrote well in Nasta'liq calligraphy and apparently knew Music of India as well.

Governmental Position

After a life of poverty and distress, Mir Muhammad Salih was appointed as the sheriff of the library of Shah Jahan (ruled 1037/1627-8 – 1068/1657-8) and then he was appointed as the governor of one of Sawbas (territories) and the commander of a five hundred soldier army.

Works

Manaqib Murtadawi

Main article: Manaqib-i Murtadawi

This book is in Persian, about Imamate. Apparently, the author who was Sunni but attributed to Shi'a intended to show the love of Sunnis toward Imam Ali (a). With regard to this point, Mir Muhammad Salih can be considered having Shi'a tendencies, as some have also mentioned his poems praising the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and Imams (a) of Shi'a.

I'jaz Mustafawi

This book is the biographies of the Prophet (s), Rashidun Caliphs and Imams of Shi'a and explanation of historical events and the battles in early Islam in poetry and prose. This book which was left incomplete due to the demise of Kashfi, was completed one century after him in 1157/1744-5, by Mir 'Abd Allah Wasifi, son of Mir Hashim Shah Ni'matullahi in Khorasan and its manuscripts are available in the British Museum and Jami' Mosque of Agra.

Diwan

It contains lyric poem (ghazals), odes (qasidas), quatrains (ruba'is) and masnavis and its manuscripts are available in the British Museum and the library of the Supreme Court of India.

Raz Collection

It is a mystic tarji'band including 270 couplets composed in 1030/1620-1 . The pen name of the poet "Kashfi" is mentioned at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the poems.

Other Works

Except the mentioned works, a copy of the poet's handwriting is available in the library of Salar Jung museum and the Supreme Court of India. A quatrain (ruba'i) by his own handwriting is also available in the National Library of Iran.

According to Marshal D.N., Kashfi also had a treatise in Music, the manuscript of which is available in Muhammadiyya Library of Agra; but, none of the old authentic sources has mentioned it.