Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

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Iamcontinuallyastonishedatthewheelingoffortune;

Idon’tknowwhomit’lltakedownnextintothedust.

AndiftheMagianElderweretospreadafire,

Idon’tknowwhoselampwouldbekindled.

Thedeceitoftheworldisawell-knowntale.

Whatwillthedawnbring?Thenightispregnant!

InthisbloodlettingonDoomsday’splain,

Pouryouthebloodofthebeakerintothegoblet.^2

Inthelastcouplet,‘blood’(khūn),mightbesaidclearlytomean‘Spirit’.Garcinde

Tassy,inhisRhetoriqueetprosodiedeslanguesdel’Orientmusulman,^3 listsnineexam-

plesofmetaphor(majāz)inPersianpoetry.

Thesecondincidentwasachanceexchangewiththeelderlymaidservantinan

Iranianhousehold,whomImetasshewasleavingtheroominwhichagroupofus

–includingDrKhānlarī–weretalkingaboutḤāfiẓ,withquotationsfromhisghazals.

AsshecameoutImetherinthehallandwhileshewasputtingherfeetbackinto

herslippers,afterdeliveringteatotheassembledcompany,Iaskedherwhatshe

thoughtofwhatwasgoingoninthesittingroom.Shereplied,‘Idon’tunderstandit

butthewordshavebeenbangingonmyearsallmylifeandIlovetheirsound.’Her

life,incidentally,hadbeenaverylongone:shewasoldenoughtorememberthe

daysinhernativeKhurāsānwhentheTurkamenraiderscamedownfromthenorth

and‘tookawayoursheep,andsometimespeople,whilewestayedintherefugeof

theburj[thetower]’.Ofcourse,theseraidspersistedwellintothereignofNāṣiral-

DīnShāh,whodiedin1896.

Thethirdepisode–and,forme,themostmoving–waswhenIwastravelling

acrosscountryandmychauffeurandIchancedupon,asoneoftendidonthehigh-

waysofIran,alargeMac-lorryparkedwithallitsmachinerytakenoutandstrewn

ontheroadaroundit,asthedriver,withthewonderfulmechanicalsavoir-faireof

the Iranian, sorted out the fault prior to putting the pieces back and driving off.

NexttothissceneIspottedthedriver’sapprentice,sittingonthevergewithasmall

bookinhishandinwhich,assemiliteratepeopledo,hewaspainstakinglyreading

withhisfinger,guidinghiseyesalongthelinesofthetext.Ilookedoverhisshoul-

derandsawthatthebookwastheDīvān-iḤāfiẓ.Iaskedhimwhathewasdoing.He

saidhewastryingtolearnhowtoread.Isawhimseveraltimessubsequentlyand

helpedhiminhisstudies,whichhehadbegunwiththepoemsofIran’sgreatestand

oneoftheworld’sgreatestpoets.

Onafourthoccasion,Iaskedaslightly,ifatall,literateyouthwhencehecame.

When he replied, ‘Shīrāz’, I immediately recited the famous verse ‘If that Shīrāzī

Turkweretogetholdofmyheart...’,whereuponheproceededtorecitetherestof

thepoem.Literateornot,heknewhisḤāfiẓ.ImaginegivingaLondoncabdriverthe

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ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry