| Mir Ali Sher Qaniʿ Thattvi | |
| Pseudonym: | Ḳāni |
| Birth Name: | Mir Ali Sher Shirazi |
| Birth Place: | Thatta |
| Death Place: | Thatta |
| Occupation: | historian, poet and hagiographer |
| Parent: | ʿIzzat Allāh al-Ḥusaynī al-S̲h̲īrāzī (Father) |
| Language: | Sindhi, Persian |
| Genre: | History, Masnavi, Ghazal |
| Notableworks: | Tuḥfat al-kirām Maḳli Nāma Maḳālāt al-s̲h̲uʿarāʾ Miʿyār-i sālikān-i ṭarīḳat Tāʾrīk̲h̲-i ʿAbbāsīya Niṣāb al-bulag̲h̲āʾ Mat̲h̲nawiyyāt-wa Ḳaṣāʾid-i Ḳāniʿ |
Mir ʿAlī Sher Thattavi, also known by his pen name Qāniʿ/Ḳāniʿ (b. 1727 - d. 1788), was a prominent Sindhi[1] Muslim historian, poet, and scholar from Thatta, Sindh. He was the son of ʿIzzat Allāh al-Ḥusaynī al-S̲h̲īrāzī. He began composing poetry at 12 years of age. He received his education from local scholars, some of whom are mentioned in his work "Maḳālāt-al-s̲h̲uʿarāʾ" He studied the "Fatawa-e-Alamgiri" and independently wrote essays, marking the start of his prolific career.
In 1761, he was commissioned by G̲h̲ulām S̲h̲āh ʿAbbāsī, the Kalhoro ruler of Sindh, to write a Persian history of the ruling dynasty, modelled after the "S̲h̲āhnāma" of Firdawsī, though this project remained incomplete. Five years later, he compiled "Tuḥfat al-kirām," which he completed in 1767. Qaune's literary contributions cover various topics, including the works of Al-Ghazali and Rumi.[2] He has authored over more than forty-two works in total.[3]
His most prominent work, "Tuḥfat al-kirām," dealt with the lives of Sufis from the time of Muhammad until the late 12th/18th century, an account of the martyrs of Karbala, and a general history. A detailed list of his works is provided in the introduction to "Maḳālāt al-Shuʿarāʾ," pages 7-28. Mir ʿAlī Sher Thattavi passed away in 1788, and his grave still exists on the Maklī hills.[4]