Malik Mohammad Jaisi

Malik Muhammad Jayasi (died 1542) was an Indian Sufi poet and pir. He wrote in the Awadhi language, and in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. His most notable work is the epic poem Padmavat (1540).

Much of the information about Jayasi comes from legends, and his date and place of birth are a matter of debate. As the nisba "Jayasi" suggests, he was associated with Jayas, an important Sufi centre of medieval India, in present-day Uttar Pradesh. However, there is debate about whether he was born in Jayas, or migrated there for religious education.

The legends describe Jayasi's life as follows: he lost his father at a very young age, and his mother some years later. He became blind in one eye, and his face was disfigured by smallpox. He married and had seven sons. He lived a simple life until he mocked the opium addiction of a pir (Sufi leader) in a work called Posti-nama. As a punishment, the roof of his house collapsed, killing all seven of his sons. Subsequently, Jayasi lived a religious life at Jayas. He is also said to have been raised by Sufi ascetics (fakir).

Jayasi's own writings identify two lineages of Sufi pirs who inspired or taught him. The first lineage was that of the Chishti leader Saiyid Ashraf Jahangir Simnani (died 1436–37) of Jaunpur Sultanate: according to tradition, Jayasi's teacher was Shaikh Mubarak Shah Bodale, who was probably a descendant of Simmani. The second lineage was that of Saiyid Muhammad of Jaunpur (1443-1505). Jayasi's perceptor from this school was Shaikh Burhanuddin Ansari of Kalpi.

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