He was a Saifī Sayyid descended from Ḥasan. He was well-versed both in those branches of knowledge which depend upon the exercise of the reasoning faculties and in those which depend upon the exercise of the memory. Every step in his pedigree is historical, as Ḥairatī, the famous poet, wrote in an ode in praise of Qāẓī Yaḥy, the venerable father of the Mīr:—

“Tales of history should be heard from his lips,
For no one has seen his like in history.”

He or one of his relations found the date of the perversion of Shāh Isma‘īl in the words, “the untrue religion.” When he was arrested in consequence he said, “I said ‘the religion’ wrongly,”* and obtained his freedom by this artifice. The Saifī Sayyids were all bigoted Sunnīs, and Shāh ahmāsp deprived them of their families and estates on this charge, and this was the cause of Mīr ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf's coming to India. I heard this from Mīrzā Ghiyāu-'d-dīn ‘Alī,* who is entitled Āṣaf Khān. When Mīr ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf and his family fell into disfavour with the (Persian) king, Mīr ‘Alā'u-'d-daulah, the writer of the Taẕkirah, who was the younger brother of ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf and had been brought up by him, and who used to call him aẓrat-i-Āqā, with some object of his own in view wrote an ode, declaring his com­plete separation and estrangement from his brother. One of the hemistichs of that ode is as follows:—

98 People said to him, “The Mīr brought you up by his side, why have you insulted him?” He answered, “Do you not see that I have shown my gratitude to him by mentioning him by the title of Ḥaẓrat-i-Āqā, while I have mentioned my father by his name only, without any honorific title?” To be brief, the depraved heretics worked on the mind of Shāh ahmāsp, and completely alienated him from Mīr Yaḥy, and the Shāh sent a royal messenger, a man of devilish aspect, and in appearance like the guardians of hell, from Āẕarbā'ījān with a written order which ran as follows:—“Since Mīr Yaḥy and his son Mīr ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf are full of zeal for the Sunnī persuasion, and are the chief cause of the staunchness of the Sunnīs of Qazvīn, there­fore take both these men, and collect all the Sunnī books which can be found within the limits of their jurisdiction, and send them to me, and take their wives and families to Iṣfahān.” Thereupon Mīr ‘Alā'u-'d-daulah who was then in Āẕarbāījān sent a swift messenger with a letter to this effect, and the royal messengers arrested Mīr Yaḥy who was known as “Yaḥy the innocent,”* and he was kept in Iṣfahan in bonds for eighteen months, until he was released at once from those bonds and from the bonds of this world of vexation and anguish. Mīr ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf sought safety in flight and withdrew himself for a time to the mountains, and, relying on the promise of his late Majesty, came to India where he was honoured by being received into the imperial service and was gladdened by the emoluments which he received through the boundless liberality and generosity of the emperor. His present majesty also took some lessons from him in various passages of the Dīvān of Khāja Ḥāfi and other books.

On the 5th Rajab in the year H. 981 (Oct. 31, 1573) in the new town of Fatḥpūr Mīr ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf took his departure for paradise, the abode of bliss, and obtained the everlasting blessings of the heavenly damsels and mansions, and was buried on the ramparts of the fortress of Ajmer close to Mīr Sayyid Ḥus-sain, “Khing-sawār.”* Qāsim-i-Arsalān found the chronogram ⁹⁹ “The glory of the race of Yas”* for the date of his death.

Mīr ‘Abdu-'l-Laīf's fortunate, noble, and orthodox son Mīrzā Ghiyāu-'d-dīn ‘Alī-yi-Ākhund, entitled Naqīb Khān,* who is endowed with angelic qualities and adorned with the graces and perfection of learning, has no equal either in Arabia or in Persia in his knowledge of works on travel, of history, and of chronicles, as has been said before. The author is more intimate with him than with any of the courtiers, and was his schoolfellow from childhood. He is now strenuously employed, night and day, in the imperial service, and for a whole generation past has been engaged in reading works on history, books of story, and anec­dotes, and legends, both in Persian and in Hindi, which latter works have in these days been translated. One may say indeed that he has become a part of the life of the Khalīfah of the age, who never dreams of losing his companionship for a moment. Of late he has been suffering from slight fever, but it is hoped that he will be blessed with a rapid recovery and complete res­toration to health. Since the good are everywhere acceptable may they live long! As for the evil ones of the age, what need is there to utter prayers for them? The evil that they do brings its own reward and evil befalls the tongue which pollutes itself by the mention of these nameless scoundrels.