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inwhichtherigidityofmoralvirtueissecretlytransformedintotherigidityofevil,

whenheremarkedthat:

’Tistoomuchprov’d,thatwithdevotion’svisage

Andpiousactionwedosugaro’er

Thedevilhimself.^110

Ḥāfiẓcriticizesthespiritualfakesandshowmenofhisdayinexactlythispsychologi-

cal sense, mocking those who he referred to as ‘the cabal of hypocrites’ (ahl-iriyā),

whichistranslatedintheversebelowas‘peoplewhosewordsanddeedsdon’tmatch’:

Iwanttobefarawayfrompeoplewhosewords

Anddeedsdon’tmatch.Amongthemoroseandheavy-

Hearted,aheavyglassofwineisenoughforus.^111

To redress counterfeit religiosity and hypocritical displays of religious fervour in
which outward colours of devotion and piety but serve to camouflage a lack of
inwardardour,headvocatedacounter-ethicofbacchanalianpietyinhispoetry.^112 The
followingverseisatypicalexpressionofthismalāmatīethic:

Iamsodisgustedinmyheartbythehypocrisy

OftheMuslimabbeythatifyouwere

Towashmeinwine,thatwouldbeajustthing.^113

Since,onthemoralplane,anysortofself-abnegation,whetherpsychicalorphysical,

helps the devotee avoid falling prey on thepsychospiritualplane to hidden poly-

theism,malāmatīssuchasḤāfiẓdeliberatelyattractedblametothemselves.Inbrief,

this is the gist–amalāmatīpractice used as a spiritual device–underlying most of

thepoet’sbacchanalia.Throughthiscounter-ethicthepoetdetachedhimselffrom

the sin of conceit and self-satisfaction–even if occasion demanded he be con-

demnedfor‘impiety’or‘infidelity’:

Gointotownwhereallthetavernsare

andgivethewinesellersthisnews:

Say:Ḥāfiẓis‘bornagain’,thatheforswears

thecozenageofabstinenceandshamausterity.^114

Asahighprincipleofmalāmatīpractice,thedrinkingofwineinḤāfiẓ’slexiconisthe
benchmark of authentic bacchanalian piety. This explains why in his verse he
alwaysspitsoutthesobriquet‘ascetic’(zāhid)asatermofabuseandwhyitcarries
exclusively negative connotations. More than the ill apparent in wine or drunken-
ness,therealevilliesinbelievingtheheresyoftheholier-than-thouselfhoodofthe
devotee himself. The chicanery of religious pretence and hypocritical ostentation

ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry