Niyaz Jushiqani (Isfahani)

Niyaz Jawshiqani, Sayyid Husayn Tabataba’i Jawshiqani, a Naskhi calligrapher and poet with the nom de plume Niyazi. A descendant of Mir Shah Taqi Jawshiqani, Niyazi flourished under the Qajar Fath’ali Shah. He was born in the village of Jawshiqan, situated between Kashan and Isfahan, and grew up and made a name for himself in Isfahan, hence his designation Niyaz Isfahani, mentioned in some biographical sources. The date of his death is unknown. His Divan was published by Ahmad Karami in 1983. The following verses are by him:

Since the time you love has made its market prosperous,

It has set fire to the heart of its patrons.

Ask me not about my distraught heart,

When you have seen your fairy like face.

I’ve been rendered distraught by the beauty of your stature,

I saw my own gait before your stature,

Behold my meager value that I was bought for nothing,

But I’m still ashamed before the buyer.

You are in a cozy place with others,

But you render us deprived of the shade of your wall.

Niyaz kept silent refraining from talking about you,

Since he has forgotten to talk before you.

Majma’ al-Fusaha’ (2/ 499); Farhang-i Sha’iran-i Zaban-i Parsi az Aghaz ta Imruz (1/ 592).