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identified both by Rāzī and Maybudī^142 as the prototypical ‘holy sinner’. Adam’s

spiritualdegreeisnonethelessexalted,insofarasheisdestinedbyhislowly,earthly

and sinful nature to reveal God’s qualities of Mercy and Beauty during his journey

(safar) ‘down under’ through the realm of mortality, where he is divinely destined

tobeensnaredinhumanlove.Ḥāfiẓ’sentiremythopoetictheogonyispermeatedby

Adam’s tragic journey from metahistory into time, where the theme of his Fall is

reiteratedverseafterverse:

ManĀdam-ibihishtī-amammādarīnsafar

ḥālīasīr-i‘ishq-ijavānān-imahvasham

IamAdamcomedownfromheaven

Yet,hereandnow,inthisjourney,remain

Bewitched–ensnaredinlove

Withyouthswithfaceslikethemoon.^143

Adam, Father of Mankind, is the archetypal inspired libertine (rind). Insofar as all

men in being ‘blessed sinners’^144 resemble Adam, recreants to God in this realm

ici-bas,Ḥāfiẓtauntstheascetic:

I’mnottheonlyonewhohasfallenaway

Fromtheholycell;myfatherAdamhimself

Lettheeternalheavenslipoutofhishands!^145

In conclusion, Ḥāfiẓ’s oxymora of the ‘blessed sin’ (the idea of ‘vice’ as leading
throughthevaleofhumilityandself-abasementuptoredemptionandfelicity)con-
trasted to ‘accursed virtue’ directing one up the hill of self-righteous sanctimony,
onlytobecastdownintoperdition–‘Somerisebysin,andsomebyvirtuefall’^146 –
should be seen as representing a natural elaboration of Sufi theosophical doctrine
withinthecommonesoterictraditionofearlyIslamicspiritualityandnotanyradi-
cal innovation. It is clear that the quotations adduced above from the early Shī‘ite
tradition and the later Persian Sufi authors such as Maybudī and Rāzī provide us
with the right spiritual perspective to understand the exalted stature accorded to
theinspiredlibertine(rind)inḤāfiẓ’spoetry.Counterbalancingtheviceofpride,sin
functionsasanadjunctofhumility.^147
Ḥāfiẓ’s positive attitude towards sin had definite antecedents in the tenets of
theMalāmatiyya of Khurāsān several centuries before him, as well as being
staunchly underpinned by a combination of Qur’ānic verses andḥadīthsof the
Prophet. In the Qur’ān, God’s essential character is described as compassionate,
mercifulandforgiving.^148 Oneversepraises‘thegodfearingwhoexpendinprosper-
ityandadversityinalmsgiving,andrestraintheirrage,andpardontheoffencesof
their fellowmen; and God loves the good-doers; who, when they commit an inde-
cencyorwrongthemselves,rememberGod,andprayforgivenessfortheirsins,and

ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry