Bihjat Shirazi

Biography

Bihjat Shirazi, Mirza ‘Abd al-Hamid (d. 1834), son of Mawlana ‘Abd al-Ghaffar. He was a calligrapher and poet with the nom de plume Bihjat. His father was a scholar, saint, and Sufi. Bihjat wrote naskhi and nasta’liq scripts with elegance. He associated for long with Hajj Zayn al-‘Abidin Shirwani and was his devout follower. Bihjat frequented the circles attended by Muhammad Husayn Qazwini. He died in Shiraz. The following couplets are by him:

That rend happily treads the path of love

Who first pays a visit to the tavern

The secrets are tavern and the hearts of lovers

may not be befittingly divulged to strangers.

Lughatnama-yi Dihkhuda (4/ 5109); Asar-afarinan (2/ 87).