A painter of illustrated manuscripts, Hashim was employed by the Mughal court in the early seventeenth century, between approximately 1598 and 1660. He is noteworthy for his portraits of prominent political figures, including Malik Ambar of Ahmednagar, Ibrahim Adil Shah II of Bijapur and the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, whom he painted standing on a globe in 1629. He also painted two elaborate portraits of Aurangzeb: the first – which was previously attributed to Bichitr – is from 1659 and shows the newly crowned emperor receiving his sons at his darbar or court; the second, a hunting scene from 1660, shows Aurangzeb shooting a nilgai against a background comprising forests, elephants and a distant town, all rendered in multiple-point perspective.

Hashim’s career trajectory is a matter of debate among scholars. Some believe that he was employed at the Deccan sultanate courts (namely Ahmadnagar and Bijapur) until 1620, after which he was hired by the Mughal court under Jahangir and later Shah Jahan. This view is based on his early portraits of high-ranking Deccani subjects, such as those of Malik Ambar and Ibrahim Adil Shah II, which these scholars claim show markedly detailed knowledge of the style and attire of their courts. However, other scholars have stated that, when compared with his later portraits of nobles and members of the Mughal royal family, the paintings of Deccani figures seem only to be early examples of Hashim’s exacting attention to his subjects’ clothing over their facial features. It is further argued that he likely had access to detailed descriptions and visual references necessary for him to make these portraits, rather than first hand knowledge of the Deccan courts.