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Hakim, Abdul (1620-1690) medieval Bengali poet, born on the island of sandwip off the coast of noakhali, son of Shah Razzaque. Apart from
Bangla, Abdul Hakim knew Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit and thus had access to Persian texts as well as Sanskrit classics like ramayana, mahabharata, etc. His writings include yusuf-zulekha, nurnama, Durre Majlish, Lalmoti Saifulmulk and Hanifar Ladai. Yusuf Zulekha is a translation of the Persian romance Yusuf Wa Zulekha (1483 AD). Nurnama and Durre Majlish, a book of moral instructions, are also translations from the Persian. Abdul Hakim's original writings in Bangla include Lalmoti Saifulmulk and Hanifar Ladai. Lalmoti Saifulmulk, a romance, was published towards the end of the nineteenth century and immediately gained wide popularity. The manuscript of Hanifar Ladai is, unfortunately, incomplete.
Abdul Hakim had profound love for Bangla and criticised
those Bengalis who looked down upon their own language, saying that such
people had no identity.
[Razia Sultana]
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