The Urdu Ghazal Podcast, Season 5, Episode 5--Maulana Altaf Husain Hali

Send us a text

Maulana Altaf Husain Hali (1837-1914) was a significant Urdu poet and writer from the nineteenth century. He was born in Panipat and wrote in classical Persian and Urdu poetic traditions. However, after meeting Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, he became an essential voice for social reform and modernization in Muslim society. Hali's most famous work is the ‘Musaddas-e-Hali,’ a long poem that critically examined the decline of Muslim civilization and called for social and educational reforms. He was also known for breaking away from the traditional ghazal form to write more socially conscious poetry. He served as a teacher and wrote several influential works of literary criticism, including ‘Muqaddimah-e-Sher-o-Shayiiri’ (An Introduction to Poetry and Poetics), which helped establish modern literary criticism in Urdu. Hali also wrote biographies, including an essential work on Mirza Ghalib, with whom he had studied poetry.