Muztar Khairabadi

Muztar Khairabadi Biography

Muztar Khairabadi was a great Urdu poet from Khairabad who lived during the period, 1862-1927. His real name is Iftikhar Hussain. He belonged to the family of literals and scholars, mostly linked to Urdu poetry and literature. Many of his successors earned fame and popularity in writing field and entertainment industry. Muztar was the grandson of Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, a revolutionary writer and widely regarded as one of the main figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He was the father of poet and lyricist Jan Nisar Akhtar and grandfather of Javed Akhtar and Salman Akhtar. Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, and Kabir Akhtar are his great grandchildren, and most of them are associated with Bollywood.

He was born in Khairabad in the year 1862. His first mentor was his mother. Born into a family of literals he too chose the same world, and earned fame as a popular writer and poet. He received several prestigious titles during his life time, Khan Bahadur, Eitbar-ul-Mulk, and Iftikhar-ul-Shaura to name a few. Nazr-e-Khuda, Behr-e-Taweel, Marg-e-Ghalat ki Fariyad, Meelaad-e-Mustafa etc are among his major works. Marg-e-Ghalat ki Fariyad was a ghazal, Behr-e-Taweel and Nazr-e-Khuda belonged to poetry, and Meelaad-e-Mustafa, the collection of na`at.

Apart from authoring many books of different genres, he also published a literary magazine entitled Karishama-e-Dilbar. Most of his family members are following his legacy. His son Jan Nisar Akhtar’s second wife Safia Akhtar has authored two notable works - "Harf-e-Aashna" and "Zer-e-Lab". She is the sister of Asrar ul Haq Majaz, best known by the pen name Majaz. Muztar Khairabadi and Usman Harooni are among his ancestors, related to literal world. In fact, the ancestors of both these families belonged to same root.

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Updated: June 07, 2018