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The Islamic and Persian Background
LovehasbeentreatedbyvariousauthorsandpoetsintheIslamicworld,whogive
definitions,describelove’sworkingsandimpact,anddiscussitspurposeinhuman
life.MostofthedefinitionsoneencountersinPersianpoetrytreatloveasanethico-
mysticalconcept,anelusivebutomnipresentforcethatennoblesman’scharacter
andunitesmanwithhisCreator.The‘love’describedbytheSufimystics,asR.A.
Nicholsonobserved,‘istheemotionalelementinreligion,theraptureoftheseer,
thecourageofthemartyr,thefaithofthesaint,theonlybasisofmoralperfection
andspiritualknowledge.Practically,itisself-renunciationandself-sacrifice,the
givingupofallpossessions–wealth,honour,will,life,andwhateverelsemenvalue
–fortheBeloved’ssakewithoutanythoughtofreward.’^4
Ḥāfiẓ,aneclecticpoet,usesawiderangeoftheideasonlovepropoundedbymys-
tics,physiciansandphilosophersoverthepreviouscenturies.Ḥāfiẓ’suseofthe
termlovecorrespondsentirelywithhispredecessorssuchasSanā’ī(d.525/1131),
‘Aṭṭār(d.618/1221)andNiẓāmī(d.606/1209),whowereallinfluencedbyAḥmad
Ghazālī’s(d.520/1126)seminaltreatiseSawāniḥ.WhileSanā’īproducesatheoryof
loveinhisḤadīqa,andNiẓāmīshowstheworkingsandimpactofthisforceon
humanbeingsinhisromances,Ḥāfiẓ,inhislovelyrics,alludesprimarilytothecre-
ationmythasitwasusedbythePersianSufimystics.
IslamicmysticsrecounttheirownversionofthecreationmythbasedonLove.In
thisstory,GodisportrayedasbothLoveandtheAbsoluteBeloved,whohascreated
theuniverseoutoflove.God’smotivationtocreatemankindwasHisardentdesire
tobelovedbyGod’slover:mankind.Beforemanwascreated,theuniversewasinan
absolutestateofOneness.PoetsemphasizethesolitudeofabsoluteOneness,saying
thattherewasnonameofexistenceintheworldofNon-existencebeforeGod
wishedtorevealhimself.^5 DespitethesimplicityoftheMuslimmysticaltheogony,
poetsoftendescribethisAbsoluteOnenessatlength.^6
MysticsbelievethatthereferencestoloveintheQur’ānindicatethespeciallov-
ingrelationshipbetweenmanandhiscreator,inwhichGodfunctionsastheLover.
LoveoccursinseveralplacesoftheQur’ān.Wordssuchasḥubbandwudd,and
derivationsfromtheserootssuchasmaḥabbaandmawadda,arecommonlyused
torefertohumanandspirituallove.TheQur’ānreferstoGodbytheappellation
‘loving’(Wadūd,11:90;85:14).AddressingMosesin20:39,Godstates:‘IlavishMylove
onyou.’Inverse3:29,manispromised:‘Godwillloveyouandforgiveyouyour
sins.’Intheverse2:160,itisstated:‘...theloveofGodisstrongerinthefaithful.’A
favouriteverse,towhichIwillshortlyreturn,is5:59,whichunderscorestherecip-
rocallovebetweenmanandGod:‘HelovesthemandtheyloveHim.’
AlthoughḤāfiẓknewtheQur’ānbyheartandoftenusedtheQur’ānicvocabulary
ofloveinhisDīvān,thetermheusuallyusesforloveis‘ishqor‘passionatelove’,a
non-Qur’ānictermdepictingman’srelationshipwiththedivineineroticterms.
Ḥāfiẓapparentlyfollowsatraditionoflovefoundedbythetwelfth-centuryPersian
mysticssuchasAḥmadGhazālī.
ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry