Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

Andonambition’sscaleascend

Hard-labouringforthehighestseat.

...Owhatachangetheysoonshallknow,

Whentornawaybydeath,theygo

Reluctantfromtheirsplendidfeasts,

Condemnedinhottestflamestodwell,

Andfindthespaciouscourtsofhell

PavedwiththeskullsofChristianPriests!

CharlesWesley(1707–88)

In light of the foregoing discussion of the comparative religious psychology of the
ascetic’sdegeneratereligiouszeal,andhistendency,likemanyarchetypalspiritual
prostitutes in other of the world’s religions, to cast opprobrious stones at women
taken in adultery, let us now reconsider the theosophical meaning underlying
Ḥāfiẓ’sversecitedabove:

OhLord,thisegotisticalascetic,whosesightsarealwaysfixedonother’s

flaws

Andfaults–Cloudthemirrorofhismindwiththevaporofhissighs!^54

Here, Ḥāfiẓ castigates the ascetic puritan’smetaphysically darkened vision, which
causes him to scoff at others’ faults. Benighted, the ascetic’s pride and conceit do
notallowhimtorecognizetheubiquityofdivineProvidencenorrealizethatGod’s
pre-eternalgraceembracestheknaveaswellasthegood.Paraphrasinginversethe
Qur’ān’s teaching on this subject–‘And whatever wrong a person commits rests
uponhimselfalone;andnosoulladendownwithaburden[i.e.afflictedwithasin]
shallbemadetocarryanother’sburden[i.eshallberesponsibleforsomeoneelse’s
wrong]’^55 – the poet asserts that cavilling at the vices of one’s neighbour cannot
servetofurtherone’sownsalvation,since‘thesinsofanothershallnotappearwrit-
ten on your forehead’.^56 This same lesson is delivered by the poet to the ascetic in
someotherkeyverses:

WhetherIamgoodorbadisnotexactlytothepoint.

Goaheadandbewhoyouare.Thisworldwelivein

Isafarm,andeachofusreapsourownwheat.^57

Whetherwearedrunkorsober,eachofusismaking

ForthestreetoftheFriend.Thetemple,synagogue,

Thechurchandthemosqueareallhousesoflove.^58

What the ascetic in hishubrismisses is precisely the virtue of spiritual poverty
(faqr), one of the principle cornerstones of Ḥāfiẓ’s Sufi teachings (see p. 169).^59
Hence, Ḥāfiẓ extols and exalts the humble entreaty and desperate neediness

ḤāfiẓandthePersianSufiTradition 167