Among all the great poets of Persian, Saib Tabrizi produced the most poetry with thousands of ghazal. However, his poetry is a unique case where the quality seems not compromised by the huge quantity of his output.
This was stated by literary scholar and poet Fazlullah Fani when he discussed the life and poetry of Saib at a podcast for OTS EdSense.
The podcast was hosted by Hassaan Khan, an aficionado of Persian and Turkish poetry, who recited and explained Saib’s Persian and Turkish couplets to shed light on his poetic grandeur.
The participants agreed that Saib’s verses were replete with spiritual content and like Saadi, his poetry offered wisdom and valuable lessons for life. They added that even while touching upon the subjects of wine and intoxication, Saib never crossed the line of decency and so his poetry could be read out and enjoyed in a company.
Regarding the life of Saib, Fani Sahab said he was born in 1592 and spent his childhood in Isfahan, which was then the capital of the Safavid Empire of Iran. As the Mughal emperors in India were known for their patronage of arts and poetry, he travelled to India in 1625 and also spent some time in Kashmir.
The scholar said Saib is considered one of the most important poets of Sabk-e-Hindi, the style of Persian poetry flourished in India, which focussed less on Persian idiom, and more on philosophical ideas and complex imagery. However, unlike Bedil — another major exponent of the Sabk-e-Hindi who developed a complex style that was difficult to understand — Saib ensured that his verses were easy.
Both Fani Sahab and Hassaan Sahab were of the view that Saib’s poetry is rich with linguistic and semantic beauty, and it has encapsulated the greatness of the entire tradition of the Persian poetry before him.
Commenting on Saib’s Turkish poetry, Hassaan Sahab said Saib’s style did not change when he wrote verses in the Turkish language. He added that Saib’s Persian influenced heavily influenced Turkish poetry.
The Ottoman rulers of Turkey would write to the Safavid rulers of Iran to send them Saib’s poetry, he said.
The podcast also discussed Saib’s influence on Urdu poetry. Fani Sahab said many great classical poets of Urdu were influenced by Saib, including Sauda, Ghalib, Momin and Nasikh. He even advised readers with limited knowledge of Persian to first read Urdu poetry of Momin and Nasikh before attempting to read Saib’s Persian poetry.