Muzaffar Warsi (23 December 1933 – 28 January 2011; ur, مظفر وارثی) was a Pakistani poet, essayist, lyricist, and a scholar of

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

na`ats, as well as several anthologies of

ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

s and nazms, and his autobiography ''Gaye Dinon Ka Suraagh''. He also wrote

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...

s for Pakistan's daily newspaper '' Nawa-i-Waqt''.

Early life and career

Muzaffar Warsi was born as Muhammad Muzaffar ud Din Siddiqui into the family of Alhaaj Muhammad Sharf ud Din Ahmad known as Sufi Warsi ( ur, صوفی وارثی). It was a family of landlords of Meerut (now in Uttar Pradesh, India). Sufi Warsi was a scholar of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, a doctor and poet. He received two titles: 'Faseeh ul Hind' and 'Sharaf u Shu'ara'. Sufi Warsi was the friend of Sir Muhammad Iqbal (Allama Iqbal (علامہ اقبال), Akbar Warsi, Azeem Warsi,

Hasrat Mohani Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan (1 January 1875 – 13 May 1951), known by his pen-name Hasrat Mohani, was an Indian activist, freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement and a noted poet of the Urdu language. He coined the notable slogan ''Inquil ...

, Josh Malihabadi,

Ahsan Danish Ehsan Danish (, 2 February 1914 – 22 March 1982), born Ehsan-ul-Haq ), was an Urdu poet, prose writer, linguist, lexicographer and scholar from Pakistan. Ehsan Danish had penned down over 100 scholastic books on poetry, prose, linguistics, lex ...

, Abul Kalam Azad and Mahindar Singh Bedi. His family raised him with deep religious grounding. He has one brother and two sisters. Muzaffar Warsi has three daughters and one son. One of his nephews is

Usman Warsi Usman may refer to: People * Usman (name), a name of Arabic origin. * Hadiza Bala Usman (born 1976), Nigerian activist and politician * Kamaru Usman, a mixed martial artist in the Ultimate Fighting Championship * Usman Janatin, an Indonesian marine ...

, a singer, music composer and poet. His grandson Amsal Qureshi is also a singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and a poet. Muzaffar Warsi had worked at State Bank of Pakistan (the Central Bank of Pakistan) as deputy treasurer. He started writing his poetry by writing lyrics for songs for Pakistani movies but gradually changed direction and his style of poetry became more oriented towards praising

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

and Muhammad. He later started writing Hamd and Na`ats. He also wrote, regularly, a stanza or two on current affairs in the newspaper ''Nawa-i-Waqt'' until just before he died. His most popular Na`at remains "Mera Payambar azeem tar hai" (My Prophet is the highest).

Death

Warsi died on 28 January 2011 in

Lahore, Pakistan Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. and was buried at Johar Town Graveyard Lahore.

Literary work

*''Alhamd''. (Hamdiya Kalaam) *''Lashareek''. (Hamdiya Kalaam) *'' Wohi Khuda Hai''. (Hamdiya Kalaam) *''Kaaba-e-ishq''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Noor-e-azal''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Baab-e-Haram''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Meray Achay Rasool''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Dil Sey Dar-e-Nabí Tak''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Sahib-ut-Taaj''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Ummi Laqabi''. (Naatia Kalaam) *''Gaye Dinon Ka Suraagh''. (Khud-nawisht)- an autobiography *''Barf Kí Nao''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Khulay Dareechay Band Hawa''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Lehja''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Raakh Kay Dhair Main Phool''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Tanha tanha guzri hai''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Dekha jo teer kha kay''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Hisaar''. (Ghazliyaat) *''Zulm na sehna''. *''Lahu ki haryali''. *''Sitaroon ki aabju''. *''Mera to sab kuch mera nabi hai ( naatia kalaam).''

Awards

* Pride of Performance Award in 1988 by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Ghazal sung by Lata Mangeshkar & Jagjit SinghChitra Singh frequently used the Ghazals of Muzaffar Warsi
Pakistani film ''Hamrahi (1966)'' was a milestone film in renowned Pakistani playback singer Masood Rana's singing career. All songs of 'Hamrahi' are relegated as the 'Best of Masood Rana'. Film Hamrahi's seven songs are listed here below: *"Kiya kahoon aye duniya walo, kiya hoon mein" (film: ''Hamrahi'': 1966, lyrics: Muzaffar Warsi, music: Tasadduq Hussain) *"Karam ki ik nazar hum per...ya Rasool Allah" *"Ho gaye zindigi mujhay pyari". *"Naqsha teri judaye ka ab tak nazar mein hai". *"Mujhay chore kar akela, kaheen dooor janay walay". *"Qadam, qadam pay naye dukh". *"yaad karta hai zamana unhi insano ko", sung by Masood Rana was a tribute song to

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

* One of his super-hit poems was his Hamd "Koi to hay jo nizam e hasti chala raha hay", this Hamd first became popular recited in his own voice, which was later sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan *"Pukara hai madad ko, bay kason nay, haath khali hai...bachaa lo doobnay say ....ya Rasool Allah" was another popular Na'at written by him * "Aey Khuda, Aey Khuda, jis nay ki justuju, mil gaya uss ko tuu" Sung by Adnan Sami Khan, written by Muzaffar Warsi, film '' Sargam'' *"

Tu Kuja Man Kuja "Tu Kuja Man Kuja" ( ) is a qawwali performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It was composed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan himself and written by Muzaffar Warsi. 2016 version In 2016, the song was covered by Rafaqat Ali Khan and Shiraz Uppal, with ...

" was also written by him, originally composed and sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The modern adaptation of the song was also performed in

Coke Studio Pakistan (season 9) The ninth season of the Pakistani music television series '' Coke Studio'' commenced airing in Pakistan on 13 August 2016, concluded on 24 September 2016 and contained seven episodes. Season nine aired Fridays (digitally) and Saturdays (telev ...

Rafaqat Ali Khan Ustad Rafaqat Ali Khan is a Pakistani singer-songwriter and musician. Trained as a classical singer, he is the son of the classical music singer Nazakat Ali Khan and nephew of Salamat Ali Khan of Sham Chaurasia gharana. He is the cousin of cla ...

and Shiraz Uppal.

Books on Muzaffar Warsi

*''Gaye dinon ka suraagh- Aapbeeti k tawana lehjey'' (Urdu), Qudratullah Shehzad, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warsi, Muzaffar 1933 births 2011 deaths Muhajir people Urdu-language poets from Pakistan 20th-century Pakistani poets Pakistani performers of Islamic music Islamic music Pakistani male songwriters Pakistani songwriters Pakistani lyricists Recipients of the Pride of Performance People from Lahore