Shamsur Rahman Faruqi (30 September 1935 – 25 December 2020) was an Indian Urdu language poet, author, critic, and theorist.

Some of his notable works included Sher-e-Shor Angez (1996), Ka’i Chand The Sar-e Asman (2006), The Mirror of Beauty (2013), and The Sun that Rose from the Earth (2014).

[7] As a progressive himself, he spoke against the burqa, hijab, and skull cap worn by conservatives, while continuing to emphasize the need for minority communities to express their own identity within democracies.

The book chronicled the life of Wazir Khanum, mother of late-19th-century Indian Urdu poet Daagh Dehlvi, and was set in that time's Delhi.

[14][7] The art form reached its zenith in the Indian sub-continent in the 19th century and is said to have died with the death of Mir Baqar Ali in 1928.

Working with his nephew, the writer, and director Mahmood Farooqui, Faruqi helped to modernize the format and led its revival in the 21st century.

[16][17] In 2011, Faruqi translated four urdu-language books from Ibn-e-Safi's Jasoosi Dunya series into English, which were published by Blaft Publications.

[18] He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1986 for his book Tanqidi Afkar, which focuses on modern theories of poetry appreciation.

[19] Faruqi met his future wife, Jamila Hashmi when she was a student in Allahabad pursuing her master's degree in English literature.

[22] Reflecting on the role played by his wife in advancing his career, Faruqi acknowledged that without her influence he would not have been able to invest his efforts in his magazine and stated that in consequence, "my struggle to become a writer of my kind would never have ended.