Mulla Zohiy

Biography

Mulla Zohiy (roughly the late 18th and early 19th century) was one of the gifted figures of the Kokand literary circle: a poet, a connoisseur of scripts and a scholar constantly occupied with Islamic law and letters. He wrote poetry under the pen name Zohiy. In the cultural and literary life of the khanate he was known for his fine ghazals and qasidas and for his skill as a calligrapher. Mulla Zohiy studied in the madrasas of Kokand and gained a complete command of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), logic and kalam theology, as well as of classical literature and the rules of the aruz. He took an active part in the literary gatherings of Kokand under Umarxon (Amiriy) and Muhammad Alixon (Madalixon) and held poetic contests with the accomplished poets of his day. Following the traditions of Navoiy and Fuzuliy, he wrote verse in Turkic and in Persian. The works of his that survive in divans and bayaz anthologies are chiefly love ghazals, Sufi and philosophical reflections, and poems of counsel and moral instruction.

Works

• G'azallar
• Qasidalar
• Turkiy va forsiy she'rlar
• Devon va bayozlarda saqlangan pand-nasihat she'rlari