Azan Faqir

Azan Faqir (Arabic: أذان فقير),(Assamese : আজান ফকীৰ) born Shah Miran, also known as Ajan Pir, Hazrat Shah Miran, and Shah Milan (presumably from Miran), was a Sufi Syed,[1] poet, Muslim preacher and saint from the 17th century[2] who came from Baghdad or as per some family sources, Badaun in western UP to settle in the Sibsagar area of Assam in the north-eastern part of India, where he helped to unify the people of the Brahmaputra valley,[3] and to reform, reinforce and stabilise Islam in the region of Assam.

He is particularly known for his Zikr and Zari, two forms of devotional songs, that draw from local musical traditions and have striking similarities with borgeets of Srimanta Sankardeva, the 16th-century saint-scholar from Assam.

In addition, the late renowned author and Sahitya Akademi award winner Syed Abdul Malik states that Azan Fakir was a preacher with profound mastery over the Qur’an, the Hadith and Islamic philosophy.

Originally he spoke Arabic, but he completely mastered the language of the land he adopted, permitting comparison of his songs to those of his Vaishnava contemporaries.

The king was alarmed and for atonement made land grants to Ajan Fakir at Soraguri Chapari, near Sibsagar and had a matha built for him.