Ab’ul Hasan Yamin al-Din Khusrow, usually known by his pen name as Amir Khusrow Dehlawi (or Amir Khusrau Dehlavi), is a greatly loved composer of poetry, song, and riddles from India.
He was born in northern India. His father was of Turkish descent but born in Balkh, Afghanistan, the same region that gave birth to Jelaluddin Rumi. Khusrow’s mother was from Delhi.
Amir Khusrow was a Sufi and disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia.
Khusrow is often called the “father of qawwali music” — the ecstatic devotional Sufi music of India and Pakistan. He is also credited with the invention of tabla drums, the two hand drums played throughout the Indian subcontinent.
Khusrow was a classical poet and composer who served as court poet to several Delhi sultans. His songs are still widely sung by Sufis and the devout, especially in Afghan, Northern India and Pakistan.
