Muhtasib

Biography

Muhtasib was one of the classical poets of the Kokand literary circle, active in the late 18th and the first half of the 19th century. What is known of him comes chiefly from tazkiras and literary sources; no detailed account of his life survives. He is named among the poets who took part in the literary gatherings of the reigns of Umarkhan and Muhammad Alikhan. Neither his dates nor his birthplace is recorded with any certainty. Muhtasib wrote in the classical genres of the ghazal, the muhammas and the qit'a. Love, ethical and educational ideas, Sufi thought, and the life and moral perfection of the human being are the principal themes of his verse. No separate divan of his has come down to us; his name and a few poems are preserved in tazkiras. He remains one of the least studied figures of the Kokand literary circle — his work has yet to be fully researched, and the information available about him is correspondingly scarce.

Works

• G'azallar
• Muxammaslar
• Qit'alar