Shahidul Zahir (Bengali: শহীদুল জহির; born as Mohammad Shaheedul Haque, 11 September 1953 – 23 March 2008) was a Bangladeshi novelist, short story writer and government bureaucrat.

Also, the novels Jibon O Rajnaitik Bastobota (Life and Political Reality, 1988), Se Ratey Purnima Chilo (That Night was the full Moon, 1995) and Mukher Dike Dekhi (Looking to the Face, 2006) is considered to his major contributions to Bengali literature.

His most notable stories are "Valobasha" ("Love" 1974), "Parapar" (Crossing, 1985), "Agargaon Colonyte Nayantara Phool Keno Nei" ("Why there are no Nayantara in Agargaon Colony" 1991), "Kathure O Dardakak" ("Woodpecker and Raven", 1992), "Kanta" ("Thorn", 1995), "Choturtha Matra" ("The Fourth Dimension", 1996), "Kothaye Pab Tare" (1999), "Dolu Nadir Hawa" ("The Wind of the Dolu River", 2003).

Mohammad Shaheedul Haque was born on 11 September 1953 at 36 Bhuter Goli (Bhojo Hari Shaha Street) of Narinda in the old part of Dhaka city.

His maternal grandparents were Azimuddin Ahmad and Hamida Begum of Amlapara, Sirajgonj Town, where he used to visit frequently on the occasion of summer holidays or Eids during his childhood along with his family members.

These places, together with Fulbaria and Satkania, where he grew up, left a deep impression in his mind and in the later years featured in many of his short stories and novels.

His first book of short stories, published in 1985, Parapar, bore his tendency to portray the human character in an intricate language in the perspective of a thin storyline.

Yet we congregate once again And a bud blooms into a flower through our time A silvery Rupchanda floats in salty water..." (Translated by Faizul Latif Chowdhury)[citation needed] Famous places of Dhaka city like Bhuter Gali, Narinda, Dakshin Maishundi and Agargaon are depicted in his writings as a strange new world inhabited by wonderful people.

In an interview with Kamruzzaman Jahangir, the editor of the literary magazine Katha, he told he was unable to explain this phenomenon: 'I can tell nothing about this.

His father died in 1990 and his mother lives with his younger brothers and sisters at his paternal home at Noyatola, Boro Moghbazar, Dhaka, where he used to reside before moving to government quarter after joining the Civil Service.

He died from acute myocardial infarction (massive heart attack) on 23 March 2008 at the LabAid Cardiac Hospital in Dhaka.

[8][6] His premature death brought an end to a literary personality who was fully competent and capable and was posied to enrich Bengali literature with his unique prose style.

[1] In 2002, Ashik Mostafa made a film titled Phulkumar, which was based on Zahir's 1993 story "Ei Somoy".

[11] Shuvra Goswami directed a short film of the same title, starring Deepak Sumon and Moushumi Hamid, based on Zahir's first story Bhalobasha written in 1974, published in the 1985 edition of Parapar.

[12] His short story "Choturtha Matra" was the basis of an award-winning video film by Nurul Alam Atique.

Theater group Arshinagar has also produced a play directed by Reza Arif based on his 1995 novel Se Ratey Purnima Chilo.