Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Zauq was the poet-laureate of the last Mughal Bahadur Shah II. He composed a large number of odes which were much admired for their conceits and ornamentation. His lyrical poetry adopted the pure local idiom which was then the ideal of the ghazal poets. For this he was greatly admired in his own times. Apart from this his verses have a world view regarding Man's responsibility and fragility in the context of the universe. In these verses, Zauq has risen above his age. His opposition to fanaticism was not the conventional lampooning of the cleric, but contained an earnest appeal.