Samad Mir
Samad Mir was a Kashmiri Sufi poet 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.His father, Khaliq Mir, originated from Nambalhar, a village in the Budgam district. Khaliq was also a poet, and died shortly after Samad’s birth, sometime between 1893 and 1894.
Mir had two brothers, Rahim and Mohammad. Rahim remained in Narwara, while Mohammad died in his twenties. 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.
Poetry and Sufism
Mir was illiterate and received no formal schooling. His verses were transcribed by Ali Shah of Wagar, Budgam.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. More than 200 poems are attributed to Mir.
Mir’s works incorporate a blend of Sanskrit and Hindi vocabulary, 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.
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.Works
Mir’s works include:Aknandun – widely regarded as his most significant narrative poem
Praran Praran Tarawatiyay
A series of Na‘at poems praising the Prophet Muhammad.
Short devotional verses invoking prophets, awliyāʾ, and Kashmiri Sufi masters.
His lyric poems are noted for their use of Sanskrit and Hindi loanwords.
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.