Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

and(inv.7)tothelight-heartedness(dil-ikhurram)thatcomprisesthesadprivileges
andgracelessfolliesoftheoblivious.Thispolaritybetweenthecare-strickentrue
lovergracedwithlove’sgriefandthelight-hearteddilettantealientolove’swoesis
oftenalludedtobyḤāfiẓ,and,indeed,isfeaturedinaveryfamouslinefromthe
openingghazalintheDīvān:

Apitchblacknight

Billowsfearfulfoaming

thewhirlpool’sdreadful

swirling...

Thosedisenburdenedmenwhostandsocarelessonthestrand,

Howcantheyevercomprehendourstateofmind?^36

The‘disenburdened’(inPersian:sabukbārān-i sāhilhā)arethosewhostandonthe
shorecarelessandunfeeling,unawareoflove’spainsandpassion,andunaffectedby
anypangsofyearning.The‘ocean’hererecallsthe‘oceanoflove’–theSeaof
DivineAttributesinwhichthesouloftheFedeli d’amoredissolveslikeadropandis
annihilated,butinthedeeppassionsandstrongcurrentsofwhichthe‘disenbur-
dened’dilettante,safeanddryontheseastrand,hasnoexperience.Theword‘bur-
den’(bār)reappearshereinthetermsabukbārān(‘disenburdened’,literally:‘lightly
burdened’)thatbringsusbacktothe‘BurdenoftheTrust’(bār-i amānat),whichin
turnrecallstheideathatthosewhodonotpartakeoflovecanneitherknowits
painsnorbearitsburdens.Bothbythemediumofknowledgeandthroughthe
experienceoflove,the‘BurdenoftheTrust’obligesmantoendurepain,griefand
longing.TorememberistoregainconsciousnessofthatweightyTrust,tobecome
newlyawareofwhatwaslostofoldandconsequentlytolongtoreturn,todesireto
regainthedayofunion.Thesearesome,butbynomeansall,theconnotationsof
gham(love’sgrief)inthereligionofloveinclassicalPersianpoetry.
Longingoryearning(shawq)isalsoanessentialandcentralthemeofthewhole
traditionofloveliteratureinIslam,whethersacredorprofane,^37 becauseunion
withoutseparationisimpossible,justasdesirewithoutlossanddeprivationis
meaningless.Loveandlongingareconcomitantsofeachother.Thatisonereason
whyanyonewhohasbeheld–andfalleninlovewith–theprimordialbeautyisalso
‘grief-stricken’(ghamdīdih):hishearthas‘beheld’thegrief–thatistosay,hassuf-
fereditpersonally.Beingrackedbythememoryofloss,hesuffersthepangsof
yearningwhichabsenceentails,whichhislongingbetokensandwhichhisstatusas
aloverdemands.ThereareinnumerablelinesthroughoutḤāfiẓ’sDīvāninparticu-
lar,^38 andinPersianpoetryingeneral,thatalludetothecentralityoflonginginlove
andtheparadoxofjoyinpain.
ThatmemoryḤāfiẓkeepsinmind–orratherpreserves‘inheart’–isnotonlythe
remembranceoftheradiantbeautywitnessedbymankindonthatfatefuldayof
pre-Eternity(Alast),notonlythemysteryoftheBeloved’sepiphanyandthereten-
tionofthecovenantsealedthen,itisthereadyacceptanceonthepartofthelover

Ḥāfiẓ and the School of Love in Classical Persian Poetry 129