Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

Thewayfareratthebeginningofthepath,whoisconcernedwiththeperfec-

tionofthesoul,hasbothhimselfandGodinview.Fromthisperspective,who-

everwantstobringhimselftoGodinthiswayhasarelationshipwiththe

Magi[majūs],whobelieveinlightanddarkness.Bothhimselfandthelightof

Godarehiscontemplation,andbytheverysameexpression,theycallthe

seekeraZoroastrian[gabr],asisthecaseinthepoetryofMawlanaJalālal-Dīn

Rūmī.Likethisexpression,sometimestheycallhimaChristian,sincehe

affirmstherealityofhimself,God,andhisownseekingandconcentration,

justastheChristiansbelieveintheTrinity.Andtheycallthestationoflove

thetavern,consideringthatinthisdegreetheconstraintofdividingintoself

andtheotherisremovedfromthecharacterofthegnostic...^29

Havingestablishedthisprincipleofpoeticsymbolism,Davānīgoesontocomment
ontheimageofthecupthatrepresentstheheart,addingseveralotherPersian
versesbyḤāfiẓinsupport,andreferringexplicitlytothepoetryofFakhral-Dīn
‘Irāqīasanexampleofthesamesymbolicprinciple.Thisremarkconcludesthe
‘reminder’passage,afterwhichthecommentarypropercanbegin.
ItisapparentthatthissecondtreatisebyDavānīisbasedonamorethorough-
goinghermeneuticalframeworkthanthefirsttreatise,inwhichhehadsimplyout-
linedthepossibilitiesofthreecomplementaryperspectivesonaparticularverseby
Ḥāfiẓ.Tobesure,thefirsttreatiseisalsofirmininsistingontheprincipleof
metonymy,inwhichatermusedinapoemisconsideredtobeasymbolforan
underlyingspiritualreality.Themetaphysicalassumptionsunderlyingthesecond
textaremoretechnicaland,indeed,esoteric,relyinguponlongtraditionsofphilo-
sophicalandmysticalreflection,andintertextualreference.Itisnoteworthythat
Davānīhereassertsthatpoetrymustbereadnotonlyintermsofthedialecticof
secrecyanddisclosure,butalsoinrelationtomysticalteachingsaboutthecon-
sciousnessoftheProphetMuḥammad,theesotericfigureoftheSealoftheSaints,
andtheuniversalimpactofthecomingadventoftheexpectedmessiah.Thisisof
coursetheverysamehermeneuticthatDavānīwouldbringtobearonanyother
text,includingtheQur’ān.
EnoughhasbeensaidsofartomakeitclearhowDavānīapproachesthepoetryof
Ḥāfiẓ,andforreasonsofspaceIwillnotattempttogothroughhisexpositionofthe
detailsofthelyricthatisexploredinthesecondtreatise,fascinatingthoughthese
interpretationsare.NorwillIlingeronthethirdtreatiseintheanthologyof
Davānī’swritingsonḤāfiẓ,whichisextremelyshortandbasicallyusesasingle
verseasaspringboardforarguingthedoctrineofpredestination.^30 Instead,Iwould
liketoturnbrieflytoanissueofhistoricalornarrativeinterpretationthatisalso
offeredbyDavānī,whoclearlyassumesthattheversesofḤāfiẓwerewritten‘inthe
formofdescribinghisownstate[bi-ṣūrat-i vaṣf al-ḥāl-i khwud]’.
WhilecommentingonavariationofthesayingattributedtoJesus,thatone
shouldnotpresentwisdombeforetheunworthy,Davānīrecallsthestorythathe
heardfromadervish,whomaintainedthatḤāfiẓwasadiscipleofaSufimaster.The

Ḥāfiẓ and the Persian Sufi Tradition 207