Abu al-Barakat Munir Lahori () commonly known as MollàMonër LÃÂhà «rë (1610 â 1644) was a Punjabi poet and prose writer of the Persian language active during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah JahÃÂn.
Born on 28 November 1610 in a Punjabi family, Munër was a native of Lahore. His father, ÿAbd al-Jalël ḤÃÂfiẠAbà « IsḥÃÂq, was a master calligrapher employed by emperor Akbar. His two brothers, Abà « l-FayḠ(pen name Fayá¸Âà"Grace") and Abà « l-Fatḥ (pen name á¸Âamër "Heart") were also poets.
Munër began his career as a poet at the age of fourteen. In 1635, he entered the service of MërzàṢafë Sayf KhÃÂn, governor of Akbarabad (Agra) and brother-in-law of the queen, MomtÃÂz Maḥall. He accompanied Sayf KhÃÂn when the latter was appointed as governor of Bengal. After Sayf KhÃÂn's death in 1639, Munër joined the court of ShÃÂpà «r MërzàIÿtiqÃÂd KhÃÂn, the governor of Jaunpur but soon returned to Akbarabad, where he was admitted to the inner circles of the court poets. He spent his last years in Agra, where he died young on 9 September 1644 and was buried in Lahore.
Recognised as one of the three major poets of Lahore during the reign of Shah JahÃÂn, Munër was a prolific writer and claimed to have written over 100,000 verse couplets. His contemporaries such as ChandarbhÃÂn Brahman and Moḥammad á¹¢ÃÂleḥ Kanbà Âh considered him as one of the most accomplished poets of their era. One of his better known mathnavës is MaáºÂhar-i gul ("The rose's manifestation"), also called Maṯnawë dar á¹£efat-e BengÃÂla, which was written in 1639 and describes the flora, fauna and climate of the Bengal region. It has been published several times since 1889. Collections of his letters were published as InshÃÂ-yi Munër ("Brilliant compositions") and NawbÃÂva ("First-fruits"). In his short work KÃÂrnÃÂma ("Chronicle"), written in 1640, he pointed out serious literary defects in the poetry of Mughal poets ÿOrfë, ṬÃÂleb ÃÂmolë, áºÂohà «rë and áºÂolÃÂlë, and defended Khorasani style of poetry over sabk-i hindë. This work began a literary debate in Mughal India and resulted in a refutation written by Indo-Persian poet SirÃÂj al-Dën ÃÂrzà « under the title SirÃÂj-i munër (âÂÂShining lampâÂÂ). Munër was a childhood friend of Lahore-based scholars Moḥammad á¹¢ÃÂleḥ Kanbà Âh and ÿInayatullÃÂh Kanbà Âh, and wrote introduction to the collected volumes of inshaÿ of both brothers. Much of his later works, both prose and poetry, are full of homesickness for Lahore, its gardens and literary places.