THREE SUFI-MARTYR POETS OF INDIA Sarmad, Dara Shikoh & Makhfi Translations & Introductions Paul Smith SARMAD (d. 1659). Sarmad whose name derives from the Persian word for eternal or everlasting, was a dervish poet of Jewish and Armenian origin who settled in India. He wandered the streets and the courts completely naked and was close to Prince Dara Shikoh. During his life he produced a translation of the Torah in Persian. Finally he was beheaded in 1659 by Aurangzeb for his perceived heretical Sufi poetry. DARA SHIKOH (1615-1659) was the oldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan. He was a fine poet, his poems having the influence of Sufism to which he was dedicated. His Divan of ghazals, ruba'is and qasidas was not the only work he left behind; his five prose works on Sufism and Indian mysticism are popular even today. He was defeated leading an uprising against Aurangzeb and beheaded. MAKHFI (1639-1702). Princess Zeb-un-Nissa, (pen-name 'Makhfi') was the oldest daughter of Aurangzeb. She revealed great intelligence from an early age. She never married and was imprisoned by her father for years for being involved in a plot with her brother to unseat him and for her Sufi beliefs. She was tortured and died in prison. The rhyme-structure and meaning of these remarkable ruba'is & ghazals of these poets has been kept. Large Format Edition 7" x 10" pages 334 COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "I was very impressed with the beauty of these books." Dr. R.K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 130 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Lalla Ded, Baba Farid, Rahman Baba, Yunus Emre, Iqbal and many others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, children's books biographies and screenplays. www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com