Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

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Basedonthistradition,theworldbecameviewedasanepiphanyandrevelation
oflove.Lovefunctionsasaprimummobile,settingeverythinginmotionandbinding
everythingtogether.Ḥāfiẓreferstothisepiphanyoflove,whichisdepictedasaray
ofGod’sbeauty,inthefollowingfamouscouplet:

Dar azal partaw-yi ḥusnat zi tajallī dam zad

‘Ishq paydā shud u ātash bih hama ‘ālam zad.^25

Inthebeginning,arayofyourBeautyshoneout,sparkedfire:

Lovewasseen,andthewholeworldburned.

Here,ḤāfiẓisreferringtothebeautyoftheBelovedandhowthisbeautygenerates
love.MysticsbelievethattheBelovedisthesourceofbeautyandlovesbeauty.
Inchapter51ofhisSawāniḥ,AḥmadGhazālīcitesthefamoustradition‘Godis
beautifulandlovesbeauty’,emphasizingthateveryoneshouldeitherbeinlove
with beauty, or with the lover of beauty. Ghazālī links this tradition to the
doctrineofshāhid-bāzī,‘love-playthroughthecontemplation’ofmortalbeauties,
bywhichmysticstrytoattaindirectcommunionwiththeBeloved,andtoexperi-
ence the primordial encounter with God. Ḥāfiẓ is dramatically expressing
howthewholeworldisconnectedtothedivinebeauty.ThisideaofGod’smanifes-
tationasanessentiallybeautifulbeingisrepeatedelsewhereintheDīvān,for
example:

‘Ālam az shūr-u shar-i ‘ishq khabar hīch nadāsht

fitna-angīz-i jahān ghamza-yi jādū-yi tu būd.^26

Theworldknewnaughtoflove’stumultandcommotion:

Thechaos-causeroftheworldwasthewitcheryofawinkfromyou.

Theallusionhereisagaintothedawnofcreation,whentherewasnoknowledgeof
anything,andtheBeloved’sflirtatiousbehaviourinitiatesdisorderorrebellion,
throughwhichtheworldbecomesawareoflove.TheCreatorthusappearsas
thesupremeEnchanter,captivatingeverythingHecreatesthroughHismatchless
beauty.

Descent and Ascent

Afterrevealinglove,GodcreatesAdamandhisprogeny,andstrengthenshisbond
withhumanbeingsbyapact.Thispactisusuallyknownasthe‘ahd-i alast,or‘the
pactof“AmInotyourLord[alastu be-rabbikum]?”’–alludingtotheverse:‘And
whenthyLordtookfromtheChildrenofAdam,fromtheirloins,theirseed,and
madethemtestifyagainstthemselves[saying],“AmInotyourLord?”Theysaid,

ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry