Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

“Yes,wetestify”’(7:172).MysticsinterprettheiraffirmativeanswertoGodbysay-
ingthattheyweresocaptivatedbythebeautyofGodthattheyinvoluntarilysaid
balā,or‘Yes.Wewitnessthouart.’ḤāfiẓtoointerpretsthisQur’ānverseinthis
samemysticalsense.LikeFarīdal-Dīn‘Aṭṭār,whointerpretsman’sanswerasbeing
atrialinwhichheissubjectedtoaffliction(balā’),Ḥāfiẓbelievesthattheattainment
ofthehigheststageofloveisonlypossiblebyexertionandbyacceptingtheafflic-
tioninflictedupontheloverbyseparation:

Maqām-i ‘aysh muyasar nimīshavad bī-ranj

balī ba ḥukm-i balā’ basta-and ‘aḥd-i alast.^27

Thestationofdelightcannotbeattainedwithoutexertion

Thecovenantof‘AmInot’linked‘yes’totrials’decree.

IntheirnewtranslationofḤāfiẓ,RobertBlyandLeonardLewisohnchoosethe
followingtranslationtoillustratethisrelationshipbetweenthecovenantofPre-
eternityandman’saffliction:

Thewaitingstationofpleasureanddelight

Alwaysincludessuffering.InPre-eternity

Thesoulsboundthemselvestothattragedy.^28

CommentingonthesameQur’ānverse(7:172),AnnemarieSchimmelexplains:‘the
themeofAffliction,balā’isingeniouslycombinedwiththewordbalā,“Yes”,thatthe
soulsspokeattheDayoftheCovenant,thusacceptinginadvanceeverytribulation
thatmightbeshowereduponthemuntilDoomsday.’^29 Forthisreason,thePersian
Sufimysticsconsideredafflictiontobetheessenceoflove.Inhistheoreticaltrea-
tise,AḥmadGhazālīdefinesloveasaffliction,insofarasthesufferingthatthesepa-
ratedloverexperiencesfromlove,resultsonlyinpainandanguish.^30 Butthis
sufferingisapurgative,purifyingtheloverfromallattachmentssothatonlylove
canexist.Acceptingsufferinganddeprivationisanotherwayofdescribingthemys-
ticalstagesoffanā(annihilation)andbaqā(indwellingwiththeBeloved),during
whichthemysticloverdivestshimselfofeverythingthatimpedeshisunionwith
theBeloved.InNiẓāmī’sromanceLaylī and Majnūn,Majnūnsufferssomuchhard-
shipvoluntarilythathebecomes,atacertainstage,identifiedwithloveandsuffer-
ing.Thedescriptionofhisphysicalandmoraltraitsconvergeswiththedefinitionof
love.Asceticsusestringentdisciplinetodivestthemselvesofallworldlyinterests
bykeepingvigil,eatinglittleandavoidinginvolvementintheworld:loversdothe
samethingsasaresultoflove,andthemysticloverwelcomesallhardshipinorder
toattaintotheLovedOne.^31
Theseparatedlovercanclimbtheladderoflovethroughexertionandvoluntary
suffering,thesufferinghavingbeenacceptedonhisbehalfwiththe‘Yes’utteredat
thepactofalast.Ḥāfiẓexpandsonthisideainthefollowingverse:

Ḥāfiẓ and the School of Love in Classical Persian Poetry 113