The first writer to use Urdu as the medium of poetic expression was

Amir Khusrau (1253–1325) is widely recognised as the earliest poet to employ the emerging Hindavi/early Urdu as a medium for poetic and devotional expression. He composed sufi poetry in Persian and in the vernacular then called Hindavi (later identified with Urdu), and introduced forms such as qaul in qawwali that used this mixed speech [1]. The Urdu Council’s historical overview likewise identifies Amir Khusrau as the first major folk poet who wrote in the newly formed speech (Hindavi/early Urdu) [2]. Later canonical Urdu poets such as Mirza Ghalib belong to a much later period (Ghalib is a 19th-century figure) and therefore postdate Khusrau [3].

Sources

1. [1] THEMES IN INDIAN HISTORY PART II, History CLASS XII (NCERT 2025 ed.) > Chapter 6: Bhakti-Sufi Traditions > Amir Khusrau and the qaul > p. 158
2. [2] https://www.urducouncil.nic.in/council/a-historical-perspective-of-urdu
3. [3] Modern India ,Bipin Chandra, History class XII (NCERT 1982 ed.)[Old NCERT] > Chapter 2: Indian States and Society in the 18th Century > Social and Cultural Life > p. 42