Born Syed Fazlul Hassan in 1875 in the town of Unnao, Syed wrote under the pen-name Hasrat. He got his primary education at home. He did BA from Aligarh in 1903. He learned Arabic from Maulana Syed Zahoorul Islam Fateh Puri and Persian from Niaz Fateh Puri's father Muhammad Amir Khan. Hasrat was one of the strongest supporters of the Swadeshi movement. From the very beginning he had a bent for poetry. In 1903, he published a magazine "Urdu Maali" from Aligarh. In 1907, he was imprisoned for publishing an article. Until 1947, he was imprisoned several times and released several times. During this time, his financial condition was in shambles. The magazine was also closed. Hasrat is also called "Raees al-Mutaghzaleen".