Ahmad
Ahmad was a poet from Golconda, though the dates of his birth and death remain unknown. His work was highly regarded by his contemporaries, with Ibn Nishati, another poet of the time, referring to him as Ustad-e-Sukhan (Master of Speech), acknowledging and praising his contributions to Persian and Urdu poetry. Ahmad is known for two mathnavis: Laila Majnun and Musibat-e-Ahle Bait. The first mathnavi was commissioned by Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah of Golconda. The Panjab main Urdu author references this work, while the manuscript of the second mathnavi is preserved in the Library of the India Office in London. According to Grahame Bailey, Ahmad’s romance titled Laila-Majnun (written around the year 1600), of which 2,000 lines have still survived.
Further Reading:
1. Bailey, Thomas Grahame. A history of Urdu literature. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008.
2. Hashmi, Naseer-Uddin. Dakan MeiN Urdu. 1st ed., Taraqqi Urdu Bureau, 1985.