Qori Khuqandi

Biography

Qori Khuqandi (pen name; real name Mulla Mirmahmud Mirshamsiddin o'g'li; 1828, Sarmozor quarter of Kokand — 1906) was a poet and calligrapher, one of the gifted figures of 19th-century Uzbek literature. He studied at the Norbo'tabiy madrasa in Kokand and gained a deep command of Arabic and Persian, morphology, syntax and lexicography. Having studied the science of Qur'anic recitation under Hasanqori Domla, he attained the title of hafiz — “qori” — which he also used as his pen name. For many years he served as imam of the great mosque in the G'oziyog'liq neighbourhood (Khujand quarter) of Kokand. He was also an accomplished calligrapher. A “Divan” copied in his own hand, the “Divan” of Majzub of Namangan, a treatise by Baha' al-Din Naqshband, a large bayaz copied together with Muqimiy, and several other works have come down to us. His divan contains ghazals, mukhammas, muvashshah and chronogram (ta'rikh) verses. His ghazals are of amorous and mystical content and purely lyrical in character. His mukhammas (65) were composed in Uzbek and Persian, most of them takhmis built upon the ghazals of Hafiz of Shiraz, Abd al-Rahman Jami, Bedil, Asafi and Saib, and, among the Turkic classics, Alisher Navoi, Fuzuli, Amiri, Mashrab, Uvaysiy and Azimiy. Qori Khuqandi's verse also stands out for its abundance of praises of God and, especially, na'ts dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). His divan is preserved in the manuscript collection of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan (inv. No. 2310).

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Works

• Devon
• Muxammaslar (65 ta)