User:Al Gofran Orin/Ali Raza(poet)

Ali Raza(Bengali: আলী রজা) was an 18th century Bengali poet, musician and mystic. He came to be known as Kanu Fakir, he had a number of disciples one of whom was Muhammad Mukim.

Biography
He was born in the village of Oshkhain in Anwara, Chattragram, born to Poran Bibi and Muhammed Sachi. During his lifetime, there was no system of higher education in Oshkhain. Incidentally after completing his primary religious studies, he was sent to Shah Keyamuddin in Haziganj, Chandpur for appropriate education, up until age 20 he was taught by Shah Keyamuddin a variety of topics including Bengali, Farsi, Arabic and Devanagari.

After the death of his first wife in 1791 he married Akim Bibi. He had 6 children - Ershadullah, Aminullah, Shukura Bibi, Sarfatullah, Manirullah and Abdul Khalek.

Ershad Ullah and Sarfatullah being poets themselves.

Literary works
Ali Raza composed verses based on Sufi philosophy. His writings, which are a blend of Sufism and Hinduism, include Siraj Kulub, Jnansagar (The Sea of Knowledge), Agam (The Advent), Dhyanmala (The Necklace of Meditation), Yogakalandar and Satchakrabhed (Solution to the Six Circles).

Ali Raza was also a noted musician. His mystic songs are contained in Dhyanmala. The Muslim Kabir Padasahitya (Verses by Muslim Poets, 1961), edited by Ahmed Sharif, has 32 songs composed by Ali Raza. Each song has the name of the raga at the beginning. The songs are inspired by Sufism but also use symbols drawn from the story of Radha and Krishna.