Shurida Shirazi (Fasih al-Mulk)

Shurida Shirazi, Muhammad Taqi (1857-1926), son of ‘Abbas. A poet with the nom de plume Shurida, bearing the titles Majd al-Shu’ara’ and Fasih al-Mulk. Born in Shiraz, he lost his sight due to small pox at the age of seven. His lineage traces back to Ahli Shirazi, the composer of Sihr-i Halal. Having lost his father at the age of nine, his custody was vested with his maternal uncle and thanks to his talents, he made a name shortly for his poetry. He went on pilgrimage to Mecca with his maternal uncle in 1871. He accompanied Nizam al-Saltana Husayn Quli Khan Mafi from his hometown to Tehran in 1893 and was well received by ‘Ali Asghar Khan, was introduced to Nasir al-Din Shah and Muzaffar al-Din Shah and composed eulogies on them. He was awarded the titles Majd al-Shu’ara’ and later Fasih al-Mulk by Nasir al-Din Shah. He was also rewarded by the government Buranjan, a village in the district of Kuhmara in Fars province, as a feudal estate. He returned to Shiraz in 1896 and thanks to the proceeds of the village lived a comfortable, life. He married in Shiraz in 1905. Shurida died Thursday, 14 October 1926 and was laid to rest beside Sa’di’s tomb. He served as the custodian of Sa’di’s Tikiyya in his last years and made efforts in its renovation. He was highly talented and intelligent and had a quite retentive memory. He was well-versed in traditional disciplines, e.g. grammar, Persian and Arabic philology, prosody, meters, poetry criticism, music, and playing some musical instruments. He was highly talented in composing qasidas, ghazals, and satire. He was particularly skillful in using colloquial expressions of the Fars province in his poetry. He was a contemporary of poets, e.g. Shu’a’ al-Mulk, Muhammad Jawad Kumpani, Vahid Dastgirdi, ‘Abbas Furat Yazdi, and ‘Ibrat Na’ini, who composed elegies for him. 

His works include Kashf al-Mawad, comprising his numerous chronograms; Nama-yi Rawshandilan on the biographical accounts of the blind of renown; Diwan running to 15,000 couplets in the forms of qasida, ghazal, qit’a, musammat, ruba’i, and chronogram. His poetry mainly consists of ghazal and qasida, comprising of eulogies, elegies, and lampoons. His ghazals have been written by Ihsan Fasihi and his son in calligraphic hands and were published by Sana’i Publications. In his poetry, he followed the styles of Khurasan and Fars and made exquisite poetical compositions particularly in the forms of qasida and qit’a. His poetry includes innovative themes and metaphors. He was skillful in using colloquial expressions. Shurida may be compared to Rudaki and Abu al-‘Ala’ Ma’arri. He edited the complete works of Sa’di with the collaboration of Mirza Mahmud Adib, the calligrapher, and published the edition at the Muzaffari Publications, Bombay.

Asar-i ‘Ajam (266-268); Asar-afarinan (3, 343); Sukhanvaran-i Nami (1, 176-186).