Hafiz of Shiraz: Thirty Poems: An Introduction to the Sufi Master

by Hafez, Peter Avery, John Francis Heath-Stubbs

"Hafiz--a quarry of imagery in which poets of all ages might mine."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Hafiz was born at Shiraz, in Persia, some time after 1320, and died there in 1389. He is, then, an almost exact contemporary of Chaucer. His standing in Persian literature ranks him with Shakespeare and Goethe. A Sufi, Hafiz lived in troubled times. Cities like Shiraz fell prey to the ambitions of one marauding prince after another and knew little peace. The nomads of Central Asia finally overthrew the rule of these princes, and led to the establishment of the succeeding Timurid Dynasty.
It is of utmost literary interest that a poet who has remained immensely popular and most frequently quoted in his own land should, for the universality and grace of his wisdom and wit, be known outside the land of his birth as he used to be, the subject of veneration among literati both in Europe and the United States. The time for revival of interest in a poet of such cosmopolitan appeal is overdue.
His poems celebrate the love, wine, and the fellowship of all creatures. This volume, first published in 1952, brings back into print at last the renderings, the most beautiful and faithful in English, of this greatest of Persian writers.

Genres: Poetry, Middle East, Religion

104 pages, Paperback

Published September 17, 2003

About the author

Hāfez (حافظ) (Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī) was a Persian poet whose collected works (The Divan) are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran, who learn his poems by heart and still use them as proverbs and sayings.

His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other author

Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Persian speakers can be found in "Hafez readings" (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎‎) and the frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art, and Persian calligraphy. His tomb is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of his poems exist in all major languages.

Though Hafez is well known for his poetry, he is less commonly recognized for his intellectual and political contributions. A defining feature of Hafez' poetry is its ironic tone and the theme of hypocrisy, widely believed to be a critique of the religious and ruling establishments of the time. Persian satire developed during the 14th century, within the courts of the Mongol Period. In this period, Hafez and other notable early satirists, such as Ubayd Zakani, produced a body of work that has since become a template for the use of satire as a political device. Many of his critiques are believed to be targeted at the rule of Amir Mobarez Al-Din Mohammad, specifically, towards the disintegration of important public and private institutions. He was a Sufi Muslim.

His work, particularly his imaginative references to monasteries, convents, Shahneh, and muhtasib, ignored the religious taboos of his period, and he found humor in some of his society's religious doctrines. Employing humor polemically has since become a common practice in Iranian public discourse and persian satire is now perhaps the de facto language of Iranian social commentary.


شمس الدین محمد، حافظ شیرازی، ملقب به حافظ و لسان الغیب
مشهورترین و محبوبترین شاعر تاریخ زبان فارسی و ادبیات ایران
حوالی سال ۷۲۶ هجری قمری در شیراز متولد شد. علوم و فنون را در محفل درس برترین استادان زمان فراگرفت و در علوم ادبی عصر پایه‌ای رفیع یافت. خاصه در علوم فقهی و الهی تأمل بسیار کرد و قرآن را با چهارده روایت مختلف از برداشت. پژوهشگران احتمال می‌دهند همین دلیل باعث شده لقب او حافظ شود. حافظ مسلمان و شیعه مذهب بود و در وادی سلوک و طریقت، عرفان خاص خود را داشت. دیوان اشعار او شامل غزلیات، چند قصیده، چند مثنوی، قطعات و رباعیات است. اما در شعر آنچه بیش از همه او را دست نیافتنی کرده است غزل‌های حافظ است. حافظ در سال ۷۹۲ هجری قمری در شیراز درگذشت. آرامگاه او در حافظیهٔ شیراز زیارتگاه صاحبنظران و عاشقان شعر و ادب پارسی است. او همواره و
همچنان برای ادبیات پس از خود الهام‌بخش و تاثیرگذار بوده است

شعرِ حافظ در زمان آدم اندر باغ خُلد
دفترِ نسرین و گُل را زینتِ اوراق بود

Reviews

[Megan]

Expect no relief from the turning heavens—
That wheel has a thousand flaws, and grants no favors.

I can't even pretend to be able to judge fourteenth century Persian poetry and the translation thereof.

[d · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the one I love takes a cup of wine in his hand
His beauty creates a slump in the market of idols...



CXCIX

What good in being a solitary, secret drinker?
We're all drunkards together - let's leave it at that.

Unravel the heart's tangles, and leave the spheres alone
You won't solve Fate's paradox by parallax.

Don't be surprised at Fortune's turns and twists:
That wheel has spun a thousand yarns before.

Respect the cup you hold - the clay it's made from
Was the skulls of buried kings - Bahman or Kobad.

For who can tell where Kai or Kaus are now,
Or Jamshid's throne, gone on a puff of wind?

Farhad dropped tears of blood for Shirin's lips,
And still I see the tulip blossoming there.

I think the tulip knows how Fortune cheats,
So clasps a petalled wine-glass till it fades.

Come, let's get drunk, even if it is our ruin:
For sometimes under ruins one finds treasure.

The breeze of Musalla, the waters of Ruknabad,
They keep me still from wandering far from home.

Like Hafiz, drink your wine to the sound of harp-strings
For the heart's joy is strung on a strand of silk.


///

DXXVIII

I went into the garden at dawn to gather roses,
When suddenly I heard the voice of the nightingale.

Poor thing, he was stricken in anguish for the love of the rose,
And sprinkled the meadows round with his sobs, as he looked
for help.

Lost then in thought, slowly I paced in the garden,
Considering this affair of the rose and the nightingale.

The rose is become the image of Beauty, and the nightingale
of Love:
The one will grant no favours, yet the other still remains constant.

When the voice of the nightingale prevailed upon my heart,
it seemed I had no power of endurance left.

For many roses have blossomed here in this garden,
But no-one has plucked the rose without the stab of a thorn.

Hafiz, expect no relief from the turning heavens -
That wheel has a thousand flaws, and grants no favours.

[Abidah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Praise to be God! Those afar who know are near; and those near but without discernment, are afar.

- Hafiz

[muaad the poet · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting compilation of his poetry. I’ve read some of his poems before. Hafiz is truly one of the special people of his time. Although he has been criticised for his inconsistency (a criticism I lightly agree with) there are moments of true beauty in his verse.

[Josh Learn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unreal

[Raffi O’Keefe · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I have taken classes on the history or Islam and of Sufism, I believe most of the poetry and its significance went over my head.

[James Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm interested in knowing more about Iran--and this is their beloved poet. But, as usual, poetry is not my forte. I did like some of the imagery, and perhaps that is the most important aspect. Apparently Goethe was a huge fan of Hafiz, in honor of whom he wrote "West-östlicher Divan"--a collection of poems addressing the engagement of German/Middle Eastern, Latin/Persian, and Christian/Muslim. In some introductory material to that collection Goethe wrote this, which I used as an epigraph to my book "Wittgenstein in Exile":
Who would the poem understand
Must go into the poem's land.
Who would the poet understand
Must go into the poet's lands.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the poems and THEN I read the preface and introduction. Now I feel I should read it again.

[Janice Raquela · Rating 5 out of 5]

His poetry is more of Sufi Structure much like Rumi
Divine must read.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite translation/compilation of Hafiz -- still good though.