Today (Sunday) marks the 109th death anniversary of the great Urdu poet and writer Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali.
He was a poet, prose writer, critic, biographer, and national reformer all at the same time.
Altaf Hussain Hali was born in Panipat and obtained his early schooling there as well.
In Delhi, he studied Arabic and Persian and was mentored by two prominent poets, Ghalib and Shefta. He is also regarded as the forefather of current Urdu literature.
Hali took seriously Maulana Mohammad Hussain Azad's appeal for Urdu poetry reform and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan's plea for rationality in Muslim social, political, and educational concerns.
In his poetry, known as "Mussadas-e-Hali," he described the plight of Muslims.
Muqaddama-i-Sher-o-Shairi, Madd-o-jazar-e Islam, Tiryaaq-e Masmoom, Tabaqaat-ul Arz, and biographies of Sir Syed, Ghalib, and Persian poet Sadi are among his significant works.
Altaf Hussain Hali passed away on December 31, 1914.