Altaf Husain Hali. Religiøs reformator. På oppfordring av Sir Syed Ahmad Khan skrev han den berømte Mussadas som var publisert i 1879. Halis’ Mussadas var om Islams periodiske vekst og fall. Hali hånet “de rike for sin egoisme, aristokratiet for sin degenerasjon, religiøse ledere for sin fanatiske ignoranse, poeter for sine idiotiske trivialiteter.”

Engelsk oversettelse av noen få vers av Altaf Husain Hali:

«If the stranger worships idols, he’s infidel;
If he believes in the son of God, he’s an infidel;
If he calls fire his god, he’s an infidel;
If he attributes miracles to the sun, he’s is an infidel.

But for believers the ways are expansive.
They may happily worship whom they like,
Turn the Prophet into God if they wish,
Give Imams a status higher then the Prophet,
Visit shrines to offer gifts day and night,

Or pray to martyrs if they so desire.
The unity of creation is not impaired
Nor Islam distorted, nor does faith take its leave.»

Mussadas took Muslim India by storm. Its extracts are still being taught in Muslim schools and recited in religious and educational functions. It created a wide spread awakening amongst the Muslims of India. Apart from his poetic achievements, Hali was a pioneer in Urdu literature. Hali was the first major poet to put forward “the theory that literature should be harnessed into the service of the community, and made to advance the cause of social welfare and betterment.” His poems brought back to life the society of their time far better than any scholarly construction could.

http://karwaanealigarh.blogspot.com/2006/10/maulana-khawaja-altaf-hussain-hali.html