Masud Sa'd Salman



Mas'ud-i Sa'd-i Salmān was an 11th-century Persian poet of the Ghaznavid empire who is known as the prisoner poet. He lived from ca. 1046 to 1121.

Early life
He was born in 1046 in Lahore to wealthy parents from Hamadan, present-day Iran. His father Sa'd bin Salman accompanied the Ghaznian Prince Majdûd under the Sultan Mahmûd's orders to garrison Lahore. Mas'ud was born there and he was highly learned in astrology, hippology, calligraphy, literature and also in Arabic and Indian languages.

His first work of note was as a panegyrist in the retinue of Sultan Ibrâhîm's son Sayf al-Dawla Mahmûd, whose appointment to governor-general of India in 1076 Mas'ud marked with a qasideh.

In prison
In 1085, he was imprisoned, in the fortress of Nay, for his complicity with Sultan Ibrâhîm's son, Mahmud. He was released by the sultan's successor Mas‘ûd III in 1096, who appointed him royal librarian. He came under the patronage of Abu Nasr Farsi, deputy governor of India, and was appointed governor of Jallandar. Two years later, continued political changes resulted in a prison stay of 8 years, with his release in 1106. The last years of his life was spent in high favor, serving four consecutive sultans as librarian and panegyrist.

Poetry
He is known as a great Persian poet and is particularly notable for his use of conventional language and personal tone.

Most of his works are written in the qasideh form. He has some poems in other styles such as quatrain and qet'eh. In the qasideh he followed the famous Unsuri.

During one of his prison stays, he wrote the Tristia, a celebrated work of Persian poetry. He had relationships with some of the Persian poets, including Othman Mokhtari, Abu-al-Faraj Runi, and Sanai.

One of his famous qasidehs about the prison named ای وائی امید ہائے بسیارم:

شخصي به هزار غم گرفتارم در هر نفسي بجان رسد كارم بي زلت و بي گناه محبوسم بي علت و بي سبب گرفتارم خورده قسم اختران به پاداشم بسته كمر آسمان به پيكارم امروز به غم فزونترم از دي امسال به نقد كمتر از پارم ياران گزيده داشتم روزي امروز چه شد كه نيست كس يارم؟ هر نيمه شب آسمان ستوه آيد از ناله سخت و گريه ي زارم محبوس چرا شدم نمي دانم  دانم كه نه دزدم و نه عيارم بسيار اميد بود بر طبعم اي واي اميد هاي بسيارم
 * I am fallen person in a thousand sorrows
 * In each breath my life's looking in end
 * with no sin I am prisoner
 * with no reason fallen in trouble
 * stars have sworn to hurt me
 * the sky has come to fight with me
 * today in pains I'm higher than the yesterday
 * this year my soul's lesser than last year
 * I had many selected friends
 * what has become no one's remain
 * every night the sky's made sad
 * with my painful sadness cryings
 * I fell in jail, why? I don't know
 * I just know: I'm not still nor wicked
 * to much desires I had before
 * oh alas! where is my lost desires

Couplet: Transliteration: Gardoon beh ranj o dard mara kushteh bood agar! Paiwand e umr e man neh shudey nazm e jan fizaaey!

Translation: Had this sky (fate) got me killed with grief and pain (in my imprisoned state)! This patch (of garment) of my life would not have yielded life giving poetry!