Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

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istheresultoftheimpossibilityofexpressingsuchexperiencesprosaically,aphe-
nomenonthathadalreadybeen,longbeforeḤāfiẓ,chronicledinthewritingsof
AḥmadGhazālī(d.520/1126).^7 InhistreatiseonloveentitledSavāniḥ,whichisjustly
consideredasthefoundingtextoftheSchoolofLoveinSufismandthetraditionof
lovepoetryinPersian,^8 Ghazālīopenshistreatisebyemphasizingtheimpossibility
ofeverfindingwordscapableofexpressingtherealitiesoflove:

Thefollowingwordscomprisesomechaptersdealingwiththesignifications

oflove(ma‘ānī-yi ‘ishq),althoughthetalesoflovecanneverbefitintowords

norcontainedwithintheconfinesoflanguage.Forthosesignificationsare

virginsandthehandofverbalexpressioncanneverlifttheveilbehindwhich

theyarebecurtained.Nonetheless,allourbusinessistobringthosevirginal

significationstogetherwiththevirilemalesofwordsintheprivatechamber

oflinguisticexpression.^9

Interestinglyenough,aswecansee,Ghazālīmakesuseoferoticimagestocharacterize

thestrangeoperationofputtingtheexperienceofloveintowords,asif,bysodoing,

theauthorwassotospeakrapingtheinnerrealityoflove.Atthesametime,his

imagesuggeststhatafullrenditionoftherealityofloveinwordsisimpossibleinthe

samewayascompletefusionisimpossibleinsexualintercourse.Buttheimagealso

suggests that looking for words to define love is a process of love-making to

meaningsinthesamewayasthehumanloverdesperatelytriestomakelovetothe

Beloved.Thateffortitselfconstitutesthepathoflove.Thegoalcannotbeattained

exceptthroughsilence,justastherealizationoflovecannotbeattainedbutin

annihilation.Timeandagain,whenGhazālīfeelsthathisprosecannotencompass

thevastfieldoflove,hehasrecoursetopoetry,citingaquatrain,eitherofhisown

compositionorbywayofquotation,withoutofferinganyfurtherexplanation.Ina

deepersense,Ghazālīthusremediesthenarrownessoflanguagebytransmuting

verbalexpressionintovisionaryexperience.Ratherthanlettingusmerelyhear

aboutwhatloveis,hemakesustobeholditsvariousaspectsthroughvisualimagery,

providingdescriptionsthatresemblewhatcametobeknowninlaterworksby

Persianpoetsas‘divineflashes’(Lama‘āt).Ghazālī’sinsistenceonthisvisionary

aspectoflove,inwhichtheradianceoftheBeloved’sbeautyisthesourceof

inspiration,soonbecamethefoundingprincipleofthetraditionofthePersian

mysticalghazal,^10 which reached the absolute perfection of its lyrical art with

Ḥāfiẓ.^11

InthePersianmysticalghazalingeneralandinḤāfiẓ’sghazalsinparticular,

Beautyappearsasakindofdisturbance,thecreatorofacommotionthatstirsup

Love.Beauty’scommotioninturnisdepictedasaluminousepiphany,whichmeans

thatanydiscourseaboutlovemustnecessarilyrecreatethoseradiantbuttumul-

tuousconditions.ThislovelymȇléeofBeauty’sepiphanyalsoparticipatesinthe

universalBeautyofBeingitself,thusbearingwitnessbothtoGod’spresenceinall

HiscreationandtoHissupremeBeauty,for‘Verily,GodisbeautifulandHeloves

ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry