Kamal Khujandi

Kamal al-Din Mas'ud Khujandi was born in Khujand on the Syr Darya River and traveled to Mecca on pilgrimage before settling permanently in Tabriz under the patronage of the Jalayirid Sultan Husayn, who built a magnificent Sufi hospice (khanqah) for him in the suburb of Valiyankuh.

Kamal's diwan of over eight thousand verses is revered for its extraordinary musicality, intimacy, and sophisticated blend of earthly romantic imagery with transcendental Sufi love. He engaged in mutual poetic correspondence with his contemporary Hafez, who praised Kamal's artistry from Shiraz, cementing his status among the golden masters of the Persian ghazal.