Poetry of Afghanistan has ancient roots, which is mostly written in Pashto and Dari (Persian).[1] Afghan poetry relates to the culture of Afghanistan, the Afghan people and the region of Afghanistan or the former Khorasan region.
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Afghanistan was noted for its poetic language even before the Islamic conquest of Afghanistan in the 7th through 11th centuries. The Pata Khazana, if authentic, contains Pashto poetry written as far back as the 8th Century. Some of the famous poets from the region of Afghanistan (or Khorasan) include Rumi, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja Shah Durrani, Al-Afghani, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, Ghulam Habib Nawabi, Massoud Nawabi and many others.[2]
The nation also has a number of female poets, such as Rabia Balkhi, 17th century Nazo Tokhi, and others. Due to political unrest and wars in the country, many women poets have remained hidden. Today, there are very few established young Afghan women poets like Afghan American Sajia Alaha Ahrar, a student at the University of Mary Washington in the United States, wrote a poem in 2010 entitled "Desire for World's Peace".[3][4]
The Persian language has a long poetic tradition. Afghan poets writing in Persian include Mowlana-Jalal-ed-Din Mohammad Balkhi, noted for his themes of love and humanity; Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, noted for his chants; and Sanai Ghaznawi, and the modern poet Ustad Abdul Hamid Asir (Qandi Aagha).