Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

Sincenoneofyouraffairsbyprayersucceeds,

OPuritan,Iprefermydrunkenmidnightcries,

Mydesperatebeggaryandhaplesspenury.^67

Theascetic’svauntedquantityofworksandpractices(ritualdevotions,publicalms-
giving and prayers) ultimately lead nowhere, as this verse attests, whence the
emphasisḤāfiẓplacesontheinspiredlibertine’sinteriorqualityandardouroffaith
asthecorrectbasisforallspiritualpractice.ThespiritualcontextofḤāfiẓ’sempha-
sisinthisverseonthehighervirtueofthespiritualpovertyofthe‘rakes[rind]and
naturalbeggars[gidā]’,inwhosecompanyhedelights,astheversecitedapageear-
lier also attests (‘Some people say...’), is immediately illuminated once we consider
this saying of Bāyazīd Basṭāmī (d. 261/875): ‘I repent once from my sins, but must
repentathousandtimesoverformyobedientdevotiontoGod.’‘Aṭṭārcommentson
Bāyazīd’sstatementthattakingprideinone’sgooddeedsandbeingconceitedabout
one’sactsofworshipisamoralfailingmuchworsethanany‘sin’.^68 Inasimilarvein,
‘Abdu’llāhAnṣārītakesacriticalsnipeatboththePuritanascetic’sconceitandthe
learned intellectual’s pride, and, castigating both, objects that ‘The ascetic vaunts
hisself-disciplineandtheintellectualboastsofhislearning’.^69
Inthisrespect,itshouldbeunderlinedthatinḤāfiẓiansocialethics,dervishcon-
tentment(qanā‘at)andspiritualpoverty(faqr)areveneratedasthesupremevirtues,
asnumerousversesattest:

Donotdisparagetheweakandtheskinny.Rememberthat,
Youmenofwealth.Weknowtheonegiventhechiefseat
IntheGatheringisthesaddhusleepinginthestreet.^70
Or:
Youmenofpowerandwaysandmeans,suchhaughty
Prideisoutofplace.Don’tletdisdainswellyourheads,
Sinceallyourvauntedwealthandrank
Dependsintheenduponthewillofdervishes.^71
Or:
Ifthere’sprofitinthisbazaaritlies
Inthejoyouscontenteddervish.
GrantmeGodtheblissofcontentment
Andthegraceofbeingahappydervish.^72

Theasceticpaysfarmoredearlyforindulginginunctuoushubrisabouthisspecious
piety,Ḥāfiẓthuswarns,thanthelibertineeverwillforhis‘licence’:

YouPuritansonthecoldstonefloor,youarenotsafe

FromthetricksofGod’szeal:thedistancebetweenthecloister

AndtheZoroastriantavernisnotallthatgreat.^73

ḤāfiẓandthePersianSufiTradition 169