Abdul Hakim

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Abdul Hakim (Bangla: আব্দুল হাকিম) was a poet in medieval Bengal. He was born on the island of Sandwip in 1620. Hakim's most famous work perhaps is Nurnama (Story of Light), a depiction of the life of prophet Muhammad in lyrical Bangla. This work can be considered as an important step in creating a Bengali Muslim identity.

However, what Nurnama is arguably more well known for is Hakim's great patriotism and specially his love for the Bangla language. In medieval ages, Persian and Arabic tended to be court languages all over the South Asia and perceived by some as the language to do literary work in.

Hakim's reaction to this varies from philosophical to outright outraged:

The Lord understands and loves all languages

... those who hate Bangla aften being born in Bengal I cannot tell who gave birth to them

... if one is not happy with his own language Why doesn't he leave Bengal and go somewhere else