His proper name was Ḥabíb, under which he originally wrote, and which he uses as his takhalluṣ, or nom de guerre,

Originally wrote under the penname of Ḥabíb. in many of his earlier poems. Later when he and Mírzá 'Abbás of Bisṭám, who originally wrote under the pen-name of Miskín, had attached themselves to Ḥasan 'Alí Mírzá Shujá'u's-Salṭana, for some time Governor of Khurásán and Kirmán, that prince changed their pen-names respectively to Qá'ání and Furúghí, after his two sons Ogotáy Qá'án and Furúghu'd-Dawla .

Qá'ání was born at Shíráz. His father, Mírzá Muḥammad 'Alí, was also a poet who wrote under the pen-name of His father Gulshan. Gulshan. Though Qá'ání was but a child when he died, his statement in the Kitáb-i-Paríshán * that “though thirty complete years have elapsed since the death of my father, I still imagine that it was but two weeks ago” cannot be reconciled with the other statement quoted above that he was not yet thirty when he completed the book in question. The Tadhkira-i-Dilgushá consecrates articles to both father and son, but unfortunately in my manuscript the last two figures of the date of Gul-shan's death are left blank, while it is also omitted in the notice contained in the Majma'u'l-Fuṣaḥá, * which is very meagre.

About Qá'ání's seemingly uneventful life there is not much to be said. He appears to have spent most of it at Shíráz, where in the spring of 1888 I had the honour of occupying the room in the house of the Nawwáb Mírzá Ḥaydar 'Alí Khán which he used to inhabit; and, as we have seen, he resided for some time at Kirmán. The latter part of his life, when he had established himself as a recognized Court poet, was spent at Ṭihrán, where he died in

ḤÁJJI MÍRZÁ ÁQÁSÍ
Or. 4938 (Brit. Mus.), 9
To face p. 328

1270/1853-4. Two of his latest poems must have been those which he wrote to celebrate the escape of Náṣiru'd-Dín Sháh from the attempt on his life made by three Bábís on August 15, 1852, quoted in my Traveller's Narrative.*

Qá'ání is one of the most melodious of all the Persian poets, and his command of the language is wonderful, but Qá'ání's merits and defects. he lacks high aims and noble principles. Not only does he flatter great men while they are in power, and turn and rend them as soon as they fall into disgrace, but he is prone to indulge in the most objectionable innuendo and even the coarsest obscenity. In numerous qaṣídas he extols the virtues and justice of Ḥájji Mírzá Áqásí, * the Prime Minister of Mu-ḥammad Sháh, but in a qaṣída in praise of his successor Mírzá Taqí Khán Amír-i-Kabír he alludes to the fallen minister thus:

“In the place of a vile tyrant is seated a just and God-fearing man,
In whom pious believers take pride.”

Of his innuendo the following is a good specimen:

The beauty of Qá'ání's language can naturally only be appreciated by one who can read his poems in the original, which is fortunately easily accessible, as his works have been repeatedly published. * I have chiefly used the Ṭihrán lithographed edition of 1302/1884-5, and in a lesser degree the Tabríz lithographed edition of 1273/1857, and the “Selections…recommended for the Degree of Honour Examination in Persian” printed at Calcutta in A.D. 1907. Like most of the Qájár poets, he excels chiefly in the qaṣída, the musammaṭ and the tarkíb-band, but the following ghazal * is extraordinarily graceful and melodious:

Wonderful also is the swing and grace of the poem in praise of the Queen-mother (Mahd-i-'Ulyá) beginning: * <text in Arabic script omitted> <text in Arabic script omitted>

“Are these violets growing from the ground on the brink of the
streams,
Or have the houris [of Paradise] plucked strands from their tresses?
If thou hast not seen how the sparks leap from the rock,
Look at the petals of the red anemones in their beds
Which leap forth like sparks from the crags of the mountains!”

Not inferior to this is another similar poem in praise of Mírzá Taqí Khán Amír-i-Kabír, beginning: * <text in Arabic script omitted>

Instead of the far-fetched and often almost unintelligible conceits so dear to many Persian poets, Qá'ání prefers to draw his illustrations from familiar customs and common observances, as, for example, in the following verses, * wherein allusion is made to various popular ceremonies connected with the Naw-rúz, or Persian New Year's Day:

<text in Arabic script omitted> *

<text in Arabic script omitted> ¹ *

Qá'ání is also one of the very few Persian poets who has condescended to reproduce actual peculiarities of speech Qá'ání's stammering poem. or enunciation, as in his well-known dialogue between an old man and a child both of whom are afflicted with a stammer. This poem, which may more conveniently be transcribed into the Roman character, is as follows:*

“Pírakí lál saḥar-gáh bi-ṭiflí alkan
Mí-shunídam ki badín naw' hamí-ránd sukhan:
‘K'ay zi zulfat ṣa-ṣa-ṣubḥam sha-sha-shám-i-tárík,
W'ay zi chihrat sha-sha-shámam ṣa-ṣa-ṣubḥ-i-rawshan!
Ta-ta-tiryákiyam, u az sha-sha-shahd-i-la-labat
Ṣa-ṣa-ṣabr u ta-ta-tábam ra-ra-raft az ta-ta-tan.’
Ṭifl guftá, ‘Ma-ma-man-rá tu-tu taqlíd ma-kun!
Ga-ga-gum shaw zi baram, ay ka-ka-kamtar az zan!
Mi-mí-khwáhí mu-mu-mushtí bi-ka-kallat bi-zanam,
Ki biyuftad ma-ma-maghzat ma-mayán-i-da-dihan?’
Pír guftá, ‘Wa-wa-wa'lláhi ki ma'lúm-ast ín
Ki-ki zádam man-i-bíchára zi mádar alkan!
Ha-ha-haftád u ha-hashtád u si sál-ast fuzún
Ga-ga-gung u la-la-lálam ba-bi-Khalláq-i-Zaman!’
Ṭifl guftá: 'Kha-khudá-rá ṣa-ṣa-ṣad bár sha-shukr
Ki bi-rastam bi-jahán az ma-la-lál u ma-miḥan!
Ma-ma-man ham ga-ga-gungam ma-ma-mithl-i-tu-tu-tú:
Tu-tu-tú ham ga-ga-gungí ma-ma-mithl-i-ma-ma-man!”

Besides his poems, Qá'ání wrote a collection of stories and maxims in the style of Sa'dí's Gulistán entitled Kitáb-i-

The Kitáb-iParíshán. Paríshán, comprising one hundred and thirteen anecdotes, and concluding with thirty-three truly Machiavellian counsels to Kings and Princes. This book, which contains a certain amount of autobiographical material, occupies pp. 1-40 of the Ṭihrán lithographed edition of Qá'ání's works, and numerous other editions exist, several of which are mentioned by Mr Edwards in his Catalogue.