Ameer Minai or Amir Meenai (1829 — 13 October 1900) was a 19th-century Indian Urdu poet. He was respected by several contemporary poets including Ghalib and Daagh Dehalvi and by Muhammad Iqbal. He wrote in Urdu, Persian and Arabic.

Early life

The Minai family had lived in Lucknow for centuries in the area around Shah Mina's tomb, known as "Mina Bazaar" or "Mohalla-e Minaian" (The Quarter of the Minais). Ameer was educated at Farangi Mahal, Lucknow's primary educational institute.

Work

In the British attack on Lucknow in 1856 and the subsequent First war of independence in 1857, the family's homes were all destroyed and Meenai was forced to flee with his family, first to the nearby town of Kakori where he found refuge with the poet Mohsin Kakorvi, and eventually to the state of Rampur, where he found favor at the court of the ruler, Nawab of Rampur Yusef Ali Khan Bahadur. He served in the judiciary, was appointed head of Rampur's magnificent library, and became the official poetic mentor (ustad) of the ruler, succeeding the great Urdu poet, Ghalib, in this position. Meenai lived in Rampur until 1900 when he decided to go to Hyderabad Deccan to seek financial support for the publication of his Urdu dictionary, "Ameer-ul-Lughaat" – but that was not to be, and he died there on 13 October 1900, barely a month after his arrival. He is buried in Hyderabad, India.

Poetry

In poetry, Meenai is best known for his ghazals, and for the na`at genre—poems in praise of Muhammad, which he helped popularize in Urdu poetry.

Legacy

Mutaala'-e Ameer by Abu Muhammad Sahar, published in Lucknow in 1963, analyses Meenai's life and literary work.

Popular naat poetry

Meenai was considered a pioneer of naat poetry.

Popular ghazal songs