Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

xiv

Andifthekindlingstickspreadsfierysparks

Idonotknowwhoselampitwilllight,

withnoreferencetothe‘MagianElder’.Giventhatthe846/1442–3manuscriptdoes

notincludethisverseatall,theMagianEldermightbealateraddition,butitis

morelikelythatitwasintheoriginalandlater,withamindtoreligiousprejudices,

deleted.

Thathis,sotospeak,love-basedfree-rangingoutlookarousedsuspicionmaybe

considered attested by, among other sources, Khwāndamīr.^18 He mentions the

objectionofJalālal-DīnShāhShujā‛,therulerofShīrāzfrom1357to1384,toaline

ofḤāfiẓ’stotheeffectthat:

IfMuslimismbeofthatwhichḤāfiẓhas,

Woeiftodaybefollowedbyatomorrow!

ShāhShujā‛sawthisverseasadenialoftheDayofResurrection.Membersofthe

religiousclasseswhowerejealousofḤāfiẓseizedtheopportunitytopropagatethis

indicationofḤāfiẓ’sheresy.Ḥāfiẓwasforcedtoapplytoagreatreligiousauthority

who happened to be passing through Shīrāz and who advised the poet to add

anotherline,puttingtheoffensivewordsintothemouthsofChristianrevellersout-

sideataverndoorearlyinthemorning,accompaniedby‘drumandfife’.

The late Professor Minorsky, on meeting me in my first year at the School of

Oriental and African Studies, asked me why I was studying Persian. When I

answered,‘ToreadḤāfiẓintheoriginal’,hereplied,‘Don’tforget,MrAvery,that

Ḥāfiẓtoowasapoliticalanimal’.IhavenotforgottenandhaveappreciatedQāsim

Ghanī’sBahth dar athār u afkār u ahvāl-i Ḥāfiẓ,withitsdetailsofḤāfiẓ’spossibleor

probablepoliticalrelationswith,chiefly,rulersofShīrāzinhistime,andhowthese

relationsarereflectedinhispoetry.^19 Asalientfactor,wherehisversesarepoliti-

callycoloured,isthattheygenerallytaketheshapeofwarnings.Thustheyspeakto

usoftyrannyaccompaniedbythatnotuncommonfeatureofoppressiveregimes,

secretpolice.Ononeoccasionhesaysthat,‘thewisebirddoesnotgototheassem-

blytonight’.^20 Guardedagainstweretobethemuḥtasib’smen,thesecretagentsof

thecensorofmoralsandpolicemanofthecitywards.Theobverseofthissituation

isthatḤāfiẓbelongedtoaspecialcoterie;thedowra(‘circle’),hasalwaysbeenand

still is a feature of Iranian social and intellectual life, a feature characteristic of

societies in which freedom of expression is restrained. Thus like-minded people

maymeetinthesecurityofprivacy,andexchangeviews.Ḥāfiẓ’sisverymuchwhat

mightbecalledcoteriepoetry,takingtheformofacodeaddressedtointimateswho

wouldunderstandallusions–tomanyofwhich,alas,wemustremainlargelyblind

anddeaf.

Insofarasthereisanyelementofnon-violenceinḤāfiẓ’sverses,^21 hismessage

mightbeconsideredespeciallyappealinginthetimesinwhichwearenowliving.

Comparisonofhisworkswiththoseofthetroubadoursisnotonlyjustifiedbythe

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ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry