Shah Inat Rizvi

[citation needed] In accordance with the family tradition of the Syeds in Sindh, Shah Ïnayatullah would have received his basic education in a local madrasah, but internal evidence from his poetry shows his advanced knowledge of Persian, Arabic and Islamic philosophy.

Yet he heralded a new era in the domain of Sindhi poetry by combining the poetic contents of the age-old bardic tradition and the more cultivated spiritual thought of the Sufi-saint poets.

Prior to this, Sindhi poetry had been nurtured by country bards and professional minstrels to commemorate the valour of heroes in wars or the munificence of the generous in peace, and to entertain the people by composing and singing their fold tales and pseudo-historical romances.

[citation needed] According to the family accounts, from childhood Miyun Shah Inat was fond of music and would sit listening to the musicians and the professional minstrels in the village assemblies.

[citation needed] The volume of his poetry that has survived pertains to twenty-two main topics covering all the above themes, each a chapter by itself, headlined in the extant manuscripts as "SURUD", indicating the specific mode in which each one was to be sung.