192
fromhisegocentric“self”andbringhimneartothebeloved,whereasthe“works”oftheasceticonly
estrangehim,creatingdistancebetweenhimandhisbeloved.ItisforthisreasonthatḤāfiẓassignsa
negativevaluetoalltheascetic’spiousworksandpractices.’‘Rindī-yiḤāfiẓ’,inBū-yijān,pp.271–2.(^69) ‘Aynal-QuḍātHamadhānī,Tamhīdāt,no.393,p.300:3.
(^70) Dīvān-iḤāfiẓ,ed.Khānlarī,ghazal117:6.
(^71) Ibid.,ghazal50:9.
(^72) Ibid.,ghazal431:7.AsQāsimGhanī,andfollowinghim,KhurramshāhīandHaravīnote,thisversepar-
aphrasesasayingoftheProphetMuḥammad:‘InGod’seyesthemostbelovedofGod’sdevoteesisthe
poor dervish contented with what he has and satisfied with the daily bread given by God to him.’
Ḥāfiẓ’slineisactuallyaverse-epigramonAbūḤāmidal-Ghazālī’sethicalteachings,summarizingone
ofthechapterheadings–‘TheVirtueofBeingaDervishandContentment’,Faḍilat-idarvīshīvakhur-
sandī– of hisKīmiyā-yi sa‘ādat, II, pp. 424–5. See Haravī,Sharḥ-i ghazalhā-yi Ḥāfiẓ, III, p. 1791;
Khurramshāhī,Ḥāfiẓ-nāma,II,p.1163.Ḥāfiẓ’sSufiteachingsoncontentment(riḍā,qanā‘at,khursandī)
aresummarizedbyKhurramshāhī,Ḥāfiẓ-nāma,I,p.490.Cf.Shakespeare’sverses:‘Poorandcontentis
rich, and rich enough, / But riches fineless is as poor as winter / To him that ever fears he shall be
poor’(Othello,III.iii),whichprovideaperfectChristianhomologuetoḤāfiẓ’sverse.
(^73) Dīvān-iḤāfiẓ,ed.Khānlarī,ghazal75:8.
(^74) SeeIbid.,ghazal241:8.
(^75) Ibid.,ghazal468:4.InlieuofKhānlarī’sfasḥat,Iamfollowingthevariantreadingofrawnaqfoundinthe
commentaries of Haravī and Khurramshāhī, and in the editions of Qazvīnī, Anjavī Shīrāzī and several
others.Alternatively,onemaytranslatetheverseas:‘Come,fortheproductivityofthisworkshopwon’t
growless/Throughausteritieslikeyoursorindulgenceslikemine.’IunderstandHāfiẓasexpressing
thesamemessagethatAlexanderPope(EssayonMan,IV:135–6)intendedtoposeinhisrhetoricalques-
tion:‘ThegoodmustmeritGod’sspecialcare,/Butwho,butGod,cantelluswhotheyare?’
(^76) Cf.Dīvān-iḤāfiẓ,ed.Khānlarī,ghazal81:4.Thedoctrinethatthereisnovirtuehigherthanlowliness
ofspiritandhumilityistoowellknownamongmysticstomeritcommenthere;nonetheless,itseems
veryrelevantheretocitetheobservationoftheEnglishmysticWilliamLaw(1686–1761)that‘ahum-
ble state of soul is the very state of religion, because humility is the life and soul of piety... For this
reason, no people have more occasion to be afraid of the approaches of pride than those who have
made some advances in a pious life. For pride can grow as well upon our virtues as our vices, and
stealsuponusonalloccasions.Everygoodthoughtthatwehave,everygoodactionthatwedo,laysusopen
toprideandexposesustotheassaultsofvanityandself-satisfaction...’ASeriousCalltoaDevoutandHolyLife,
pp.228–9.Italicsmine.
(^77) Dīvān-iḤāfiẓ,ed.Khānlarī,ghazal84:7.
(^78) ‘Twomenwentupintothetempletopray;theoneaPharisee,andtheotherapublican.ThePharisee
stoodandprayedthuswithhimself,God,Ithankthee,thatIamnotasothermenare,extortioners,
unjust,adulterers,orevenasthispublican.Ifasttwiceaweek,IgivetithesofallthatIpossess.And
thepublican,standingafaroff,wouldnotliftupsomuchashiseyesuntoheaven,butsmoteuponhis
breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
ratherthantheother:foreveryonethatexaltethhimselfshallbeabased;andhethathumblethhim-
selfshallbeexalted’(Luke,18:10–14).
(^79) Būstān-iSa‛dī,ed.Īzadparast,pp.184–8.Thetranslationhasbeenrevisedfrommyowntranslationof
theseversesinNurbakhsh,JesusintheEyesoftheSufis,pp.101–6.
(^80) Khurramshāhī,‘Mayl-iḤāfiẓbihgunāh’,inhisDhihnuzabān-iḤāfiẓ,pp.77.
(^81) ThetwokeyversesonthisthemeinḤāfiẓ’sDīvānare:‘Betweenloverandbelovedthereexists/No
veilatall.You,youyourselfare/Yourownveil:Ḥāfiẓ,getoutoftheway!’(Dīvān-iḤāfiẓ,ed.Khānlarī,
ghazal260:9,discussedbelow)and:‘Intherealmofinspiredlibertinism,nothoughtof“self”or“self-
opinion” exists. In this religion all thought of self and all egocentric opinions are infidelity’ (ghazal
484:10).OnthenotionofselflessnessinPersianSufipoetry,seethebeautifularticlebyLeiliAnvar-
Chenderoff,‘“Without us, from us we are safe”: Self and Selflessness in theDīvānof ‘Aṭṭār’. See also
Bukhārā’ī,Farhang-iash‘ār-iḤāfiẓ,pp.157–60.
ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry