Amir Khusrau

There were poets in the Ala’I reign (i.e the rei gn of Sultan ‘Alaal-Din Khalji , 1296-1315 A.D. ) such as had not been seen before and have existed since. Amir Khursrau is the chief of poets being incomparable for his mastery in adapting the language to the requirement of the case, producing the number of literary works and the originality of ideas.

If the leading masters of verse and prose have excelled in one or two braches, Amir Khusrau stood unequalled in every branch of literature. A man like him who distinguished himself in all the forms of poetry did not exist in the past and may not appear till the day of resurrection . In verse and prose Amir Khusrau’s works formed a library .

He was an advanced Sufi, in addition to his learning, talents and expertise in various arts. Much of his time was spent in offering prayer, reading the Holy Qur’an and observing fast. He offered obligatory and supererogatory prayers. He was one of the most favored disciples of the Shaikh (i.e Shaikh Nizam al-Din Awliyah) and I have never found a disciple like him with such a firm faith ( in his preceptor).

As regards love and affection, he had his full are in them also. He was a man given to ecstasy and rapture. He also acquired mastery in playing and composing music . Almighty God had endowed him with-all the talents that appertain to an artistic and cultured temperament. He was, indeed,  created a being peerless and a strange phenomenon for the later times.

Diya al-Din Barani,
Tarikh-i-FiruzShahi
Calcutta, 1862, p.358