possessives.^46 ‘You’isneverthesubjectofanyverb.Butsomeaspectsofthis‘you’
becomeactiveinaratherintensiveway:to‘you’belongs‘arayofyourbeauty’,
‘love’,‘face’,‘thelightningboltofjealouswrath’,andtheinvisiblehandwhich
fromtheArcanumthatlashesout.Theend-rhymephrasezad,repeatedattheend
ofeachcoupletofthisghazal,isthethird-personpasttensesingularoftheverb
zadan(tostrike,tohit),andeachtimetheverbisrepeated,onesensesfromthe
rhymewordanelementofviolenceeithervisualorphysical.Theanonymous‘you’
ofthepoemmanifestsher-orhimselfintwodifferentmodesofaction:either
throughdazzlingradianceandlightorthroughviolenceandrejection.Thejeal-
ousy,exclusivityandcrueltyoftheBelovedarecastintoreliefbyallthepoem’s
verbs.Ofcourse,Ḥāfiẓishereconsciouslyplayingontheclassicalthemeofthe
cruellyaloofandexclusiveBeloved,whorejectsherloverandhidesherselfbehind
veilsoffierysplendourorshadowydarkness.Inthecontextofthethemeofthe
psycho-spiritualpolarityofLoveandReason(‘ishq va ‘aql)intheSufitradition,it
maybearguedthatreason(‘aql)inv.3aandtheimpostor(mudda’ī)inv.4aare
actuallyinterioraspectsofthelover’spersonality.Deepwithinthesoulliesthe
remembranceofaradiantbeautybeheldonthedayofpre-Eternity,butwhich,if
beheldbytheeyesofreasonorwiththepretensionofaswollenego,cannotbe
seen.Thatepiphanyissimplytooradianttobegraspedbythecrudefacultiesof
ratiocination,toosublimetobeapproachedwithamerelynotionalunderstanding
typicaloftheemptyhumbugandvainclaimsmadebythespirituallyimmature
andundevelopedpersonalityoftheposeur–mudda’ī.
Inthiscontext,Khurramshāhīexplainsinhiscommentaryonthisghazalthatthe
wordepiphany(tajallī)appearstwiceintheQur’ān.Inone,thereisareferenceto
‘DayoftheCovenant’(rūz-i i alast)inpre-Eternity(7:172),andintheothertothe
storyaboutMosesandhisquestforthebeautificvision.MosesentreatedGodto
showHimselftohim.‘Thoushaltnotbeholdme’,camethereply,‘butgazeuponthe
mountainandifitremainstill,thouwiltseeMe’.Atwhich,God‘manifestedHimself’
inablazeofepiphany(tajallī)tothemountain,whichimmediately‘camecrashing
down’.Unableeventhroughthisindirectepiphanytotoleratethedivineradiance–
tajallī–‘Mosesfelldownsenseless’(7:143).^47 ThekeyQur’ānicterm,whichlendsthe
poemitsaesthetictonalityhere,istajallī.Thetermconnotesablindinglight,a
splendourandbeautythatappearsaspureomnipresentlight.Justasthefiery
natureoftheexperienceoflovedazzlestheeye,sothislightravishesawaythesight
throughitsdazzlingrays.Theepiphany’sviolenceisadirectconsequenceofits
intensityofbeing.Theaweproducedbythisoverwhelming,burningpresenceis
perhapsonereasonwhyḤāfiẓdoesnotaddressthe‘you’directlyinthepoem–for
otherthanthehumansoulwhohasattainedtothehigherdegreesoflove,direct
accesstoBeautyandLovemeansannihilationforallmortalbeings.
Nonetheless,solongasthesoulinhabitsthematerialrealm,itsensestheneedto
regainthatlostvisionofbeauty,althoughthisvisioncanonlybeabsorbedand
understoodbystages,stepbystep.Theroleofpoetryistomakepossiblesucha
gradualvisionaryascension.HerewemayrecalltheAllegoryoftheCaveinPlato’s
Ḥāfiẓ and the School of Love in Classical Persian Poetry 131