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Butthispaintingcouldjustaseasilyhave‘illustrated’,say,ghazalnumber192:
Yār-imāchūngīradāghāz-isamā‘,
Qudsiyānbar‘arshdast-afshānkunand.WhenourBelovedtakesittostartontheSamā‘,
Theveryangelswouldshakeforththeirsleeves
UntotheThrone!^12Ḥāfiẓhimself,astheLisān al-ghaybor‘TongueoftheUnseenWorld’,andwiththe
bulgingeyesofavisionary,readsinthemagicpalace’swindowfromhisownDīvān.
Thepoetreclinesbeneaththerooftopoftheangelsintheirheavenlysphere,butis
yethimselfraisedhighabovemosthumandwellersinthislowerworld.
Thepoet,asprivilegedintermediary,interpretsthemysteriesoftheupperworld,
whichonlyprivilegedseerslikehimselfmaybehold,andthenrelaysthemthrough
his poetry to the receptive souls of the faithful below. Wine, one of Sufism’s
favoured(andultimatelyZoroastrian-derived)metaphorsfordivinelight(redat
dawn,goldenatnoon)andfortheilluminatingandcreativedivinewisdomor
Intellect,descendsfromitscelestialheights,whereitisfirstonlyquaffedbyangels
(theircheeksflushedbyitswarmth),downintothisworld’sreceivingvessels:
throughclayjarsformedofthisearthfromwhichweourselvesaremoulded,then
throughdecantersofmysticalinstructionpouredbythis‘tavern’s’spiritualteach-
ers,andfinallytothecupsthatsymbolizeourhearts.Asthewineinflamesus,its
warmthdissolvestheveilsofourearthlyillusionsandsensesandallowsourmysti-
calintuitiontotranscendourarroganteverydayrationalizations,sothat,asalert
readersofḤāfiẓ’slessonsandvisions,wemayclearlybeholdtheheavenlymyster-
iesinturn,anddanceforjoy.ThemysticalecstasyimpartedbyḤāfiẓ’sversesisa
‘drunkenness’thatisahigherformofperception.
Byadeliberatetrickofpaint,Sulṭān-Muḥammadcausesascarletpeony,partof
the‘tilework’décorwithinthealcovewhereinthepoetreads,toburstflamelike
directlyatop(oractuallyfrom)thepoet’sowndecanter,whencethepoetpours
untoushisverses:ametaphorfortheflamingwineofdivineinspirationfurther
relayedbelowthroughtheclayjar,whereinahandsomepageor‘youngMagus’dips
aladletofillourflagonsandsoquenchourspiritualthirst.Heisthesāqīorcup-
beareroftheholybrew,andhimselfoffershiscomelycountenanceuntoourneo-
Platoniccontemplationofthemirroredbeautifulideasinhissoulasashāhidor
‘witness’tothem.Anotherlineinthepoem‘illustrated’tells(uponthepainting’s
facingleaf)howtheraysofthedawningwine-flamenotonlyblankoutthemoon,
but,bymirroredreddeningupontheflushedcountenancesofthe‘youngMagi’,
overwhelmtheverylightofthesun:
Shu‘ā‘-ijāmuqadaḥ,nūr-imāhpūshīda!
‘Idhār-imugh-bachigān,rāh-iāfitābzada!ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry