Muztar Khairabadi

Iftikhar Hussain Akhtar (1865 – 27 March 1927), known by his pen name Muztar Khairabadi, was an Indian Urdu poet.

Biography Khairabadi was born in 1865 in Khairabad. He was the grandson of Fazl-e-Haq Khairabadi, who was also a poet, philosopher, religious scholar, Arabist, Persian and Urdu writer and freedom fighter. Khairabadi's first mentor was his mother. His great grandchildren include Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, and Kabir Akhtar. According to music expert Rajesh Subramanian the famous iconic poem and song sung by Mohammed Rafi in Lal Quila 1960 Na kisi ki ankh ka noor hoon by penned by Muztar and not by Bahadur Shah Zafar as commonly perceived and credited. Khairabadi wrote poetry books. He also published a literary magazine entitled Karishama-e-Dilbar.

Khairabadi died on 27 March 1927 in Gwalior.