Mahjub

Mahjub Hirawi (d. 1847), an afghan poetess and the daughter of Iskandar Khan Nizam al-Dawla and the sister of Ahmad Quli Khan Sarimi Afghani, the author of Maykada. Born in Herat, she learned poetry and belles-lettres there and composed poetry in her hometown. She died of her husband’s mistreatment in 1847. She uses the nom de plume Mahjuba in some of her poetical compositions. The following lines are by her:

O friends! The lover is at death’s door out of separation of the beloved,

Who would relate the account of sacrifice to that merciless beloved.

Neither my fate is fortunate nor my beloved sympathizes with me,

It is hard to endure such upsets of time.

O hunter! Remember the one fallen in your snare,

You that pull the wounded slave in grief of separation.

You have gone to the extremes in disloyalty,

Show loyalty towards the anguish of those in sorrow;

Approach Mahjub, o beloved! There would be no harm

If you console the heart of one who has set his hopes on you.

Mashahir-i Zanan-i Irani wa Parsi-guy (211-212).