Shah Muhammad Sagir

Shah Muhammad Sagir (Bengali: শাহ মুহম্মদ সগীর) was one of the earliest Bengali Muslim poets, if not the first. Shah Muhammad Sagir was a poet of the 14/15th century, during the reign of the Sultan of Bengal Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah. He was born to a Fakir family in Chittagong, the then cultural capital of Arakan. His best known work is Yusuf-Zulekha, which has commendatory verses for Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah. He was the court poet of Azam Shah and wrote the volume at his request. Although it has praise for the parents and teachers of the poet, it does not mention their names or residence. Shah Muhammad Sagir is considered to be the first writer to introduce Perso-Arabic vocabulary into Bengali poetry. ওস্তাদে প্রণাম কঁরো পিতা হন্তে বাড় Ostade prônam kôro pita hônte baṛ দোসর জনম দিলা তিহঁ সে আহ্মার Dosôr jônôm dila tĩho she ahmar (I respect my teacher more than my father;/ He has given me the second birth of knowledge)