This Dictionary briefly introduces the Persian authors of the Indian sub-continent. Their mastery over diverse fields of knowledge is evident from the range and variety of books produced by them. Their works deal with such varied subjects as sufism, anthology of poets and saints, versions of the Prophet’s traditions and original digests concerning jurisprudence, histories, diaries, memoirs, science, medicine, official bulletins etc. The translations from Sanskrit works on Indian philosophy and science added a unique dimension to this corpus of Indo-Islamic literature. Ethnically different from each other, these authors revealed remarkable uniformity in the exercise of intellectual vigour and curiosity. For a span of nine centuries from Al-Biruni to Iqbal there was a line of brilliant writers sharing In the advancement and responsible for raising the prestige of Persian, and making India a vast crucible of ideas by their collective genius. Quality sustained itself due to a variety of factors, mainly, the patronage and lavishness of ruling classes and high regard in which scholarship was held, as also Persian being the court language of the period.

Professor Nabi Hadi, initially graduated in science and later studied law and literature. He started his teaching career in the Muslim University, Aligarh, where he rose to the position of Chairman of the Department of Persian and also acted as Dean, Faculty of Arts. He was associated with the Aligarh University for about four decades. In 1960, he was awarded a research fellowship by the Government of Iran which enabled him to stay as a guest of the University of Tëhran for two years. He was invited twice by the Oriental Institute, Naples, Italy, to participate in its teaching sessions. As a member of the Indian History Congress, he presented papers dealing with medieval India, Iran and West Asia. He has published several books on Mughal poets. As contributor to the Dictionary of Natlona1Biograp1y, he investigated the ethos of India’s freedom movement after his retirement from the Muslim University, Aligarh, in 1991, be now devotes his leisure to reading and writing.