Amir Khusrau : Bibliography

• Tuhfa-tus-Sighr (Offering of a Minor) is his first divan - compiled around 1271 AD - and contains poems that he composed between the age of 16 and 19 years.

• Wastul-Hayat (The Middle of Life), according to him his second divan, contains what he composed at the peak of his poetic career.

• Ghurratul-Kamaal (The Prime of Perfection). Works he composed between the age of 34 and 43. The preface of is divan has lot of biographical information.

• Baquia-Naquia (The Rest/The Miscellany) compiled at the age of 64 - after Alauddin’s death.

• Nihayatul-Kamaal (The Height of Wonders) Compiled probably a few weeks before his death.

• Qiran-us-Sa’dain (Meeting of the Two Auspicious Stars) Mathnavi about the historic meeting of Bughra Khan and his son Kyqbad after long enmity.

• Miftah-ul-Futooh (Key to the Victories) in praise of the victories of Jalauddin Khalaji

• Ishquia / Mathnavi Duval Rani-Khizr Khan (Romance of Duval Rani and Khizr Khan) A tragic, but one of his most beautiful, love poem about Gujarat’s princess Duval and Alauddin’s son Khizr.

• Mathnavi Noh Sepehr (Mathnavi of the Nine Skies) Khusrau’s perceptions of India and its culture – some extremely valuable information. (Urdu translation by Mohammad Rafiq Abid - January 1979 - Maktaba Jamia Ltd., New Delhi)

• Tughlaq Nama (Book of the Tughlaqs) in prose.

• Khamsa-e-Nizami (Khamsa-e-Khusrau) (Five Classical Romances: Hasht-Bahisht, Matlaul-Anwar, Sheerin wa Khusrau, Majnun wa Lyla and Aaina-e-Sikandari)

• Ejaaz-e-Khusrovi (The Miracles of Khusrau) An assortment of Khusrau’s prose compiled by himself. Contains long treatise on topics such as Styles of writing, secrets of governance and how to buy the right kind of female-slave.

• Khazain-ul-Futooh (The Treasures of Victories) Khusrau’s one of the more controversial books (prose), in which he has praised Alauddin Khalaji’s victories with extreme exaggeration. (English translation by Dr.Waheed Mirza)

Hundreds of Farsi ghazals by Khusrau are spread in various collections, apart from the above works. Khusrau is also credited with many other books such as Afzal-ul-Fawaid (Utterances of Nizamuddin Aulia), Khaliq-e-Bari (A versified glossary of Persian and Hindvi words and phrases), and so on. But the authenticity of such books has been argued upon by the scholars. In 1920s some scholars in Aligarh collected many Hindvi couplets, songs and riddles ascribed to Khusrau in oral tradition, and published them in a book called Jawahar-e- Khusrovi. This is often dubbed as the Hindvi divan of Khusrau. 

Other authors / sources on Khusrau’s life and works

(This list is roughly chronological in order. Many of these books may still be available) 

• Hasan Sajzi: Fawaidul-Fuad or the compilation of Utterances of Nizamuddin Aulia (Originally in Persian, also translated into Urdu). The author of this book was Khusrau’s contemporary and friend.

• Ziauddin Barani: Tareekh-e-Firoz Shahi (Persian/trans.Urdu) Barani was Khusrau’s contemporary and chronicler in the Tughlaq court.

• Ameer Khurd Kirmani: Siarul-Aulia. (Persian/trans.Urdu) Author’s father and grandfather had been very close to Nizamuddin Aulia and earlier Chishti saints.

• Mulla Qasim Farishta: Tareekh-e-Farishta (Persian) A writer from Mughal times, Farishta is considered less authentic amongst scholars because of his exaggerated accounts.

• Mohammad Karam Imam Khan : Ma’dan-e-Mausiqui (Persian)

• Mohammad Husain Azad: Aab-e-Hayat (1896 AD)

• Saeed Ahmad Marharvi : Hayat-e-Khusrau - Agra, 1908

• Maulana Shibli No’mani : Hayat-e-Khusrau (Urdu)

• Maulvi Syed Ahmad Dehlvi: Firhang-e-Asafiya (vol. I, II & III) (1908 AD) Most authoritative Urdu dictionary documents many forms of riddles ascribed to Khusrau.

• Mohammad Amin Abbasi Chiriakoti: Jawahar-e-Khusrovi, Aligarh - 1918. This is largest collection of Khusrau's Hindvi poetry, mostly collected from oral sources.

• Prof. Mohammad Habib : Life of Amir Khusrau, Aligarh-1927(English / Urdu)

• Vrajratan Das: Khusrau ki Hindi Kavita, Kashi Pracharni Sabha, Varanasi - 1922 (Large collection of Hindvi poetry)

• Dr. Waheed Mirza : Amir Khusrau - Life & Works, Allahabad-1949 (Based on a Ph.D. thesis, completed at London University) English/Urdu

• Naqi Mohammad Khan Khorjuvi: Hayat-e-Amir Khusrau - Mae Tashreeh Raag-hae Ijad kardah, Lahore - 1964 (A complex treatise on Khusrau's contribution to Music)

• Syed Sabahuddin Abdurrehman: Hindustan Amir Khusrau ki Nazar Mein

• Dr. Zoe Ansari: Khusrau ka Zehni Safar (Urdu)

• Dr. Zoe Ansari & Abulfaiz Sahar, ed.: Khusrau Shanasi (NBT, New Delhi) Collection of essays on Khusrau.

• Shaikh Salim Ahmad: Amir Khusrau A collection od Urdu essays.

• Arsh Malsiyani: Amir Khusrau - Ehed, Fan aur Shakhsiyat, Delhi - 1974

• Mumtaz Husain : Amir Khusrau Dehlavi (Urdu/English)

• Dr. Safdar Aah: Amir Khusrau Bahaisiyat Hindi Sha'er (Bombay - 1966)

• V.P.Vatuk : Amir Khusrau & Indian Riddle Tradition, Journal of Asian Folklore, (1969-70)

• Shujaat Ali Sandelvi: Amir Khusrau aur Unki Hindi Shairee, (Lucknow - 1961)

• Raj Narayan Ray, ed.: Amir Khusrau, Poona, 1973

• Syed Ghulam Samnani : Amir Khusrau (English / Urdu)

• Amir Khusrau, Memorial volume (Publications Division - 1976)

• Shahida Akbar and others : Tootye Shireen Maqal A Persian Collection, Isteqlal Press, Lahore, Pakistan 1975

• Masud Quraishi : Khusrau-e Shireen Bayan Lok Virsa Press, Islamabad

• Mishra Bandhu : Khusrau ki Hindi Kavita

• Dr. Bhola Nath Tiwari: Amir Khusrau aur Unki Hindi Rachnaen

• Dr. Tara Chand : Amir Khusrau aur Hindustan, (Lecture)

• Shehbaz Husain, Nand Kishor Vikram : Paheliyan, (Publications Division - 1979)

• Dr. Sohanpal Sumnakshar: Amir Khusrau (Hindi) Publications Division, Delhi.

• Prof.Gopichand Narang : Amir Khusrau ka Hindvi Kalaam - Nuskha-e Berlin, Zakhira Sprenger, (Urdu/Hindi) Educational Publishing House, New Delhi - 1992. This contains some 150 Pahelis of Khusrau, discovered in a 18th century manuscript from a library of Awadh, which was carried to Germany by scholar A.Sprenger.

• Prof. Mujib Rizvi: Khusrau Nama - (Urdu) Maktaba Jamia, New Delhi- 1987. It explores the socio-cultural/religious milieu of North India which gave birth to Khusrau and the Indo-muslim culture. Rizvi also places the hypothesis that the symbolism in Khusrau's Hindvi Pahelis and Dohas can have mystic / Sufi interpretations.

The above list of recent books is not exhaustive. If you know of a new (or old) book or publication about Amir Khusrau that is missing here, kindly let us know.

© Yousuf Saeed, 1998-2007