Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

sphere’,^31 waslargelyindebtedtoKhwājū’sideas.Intheeroticmathnawīverseof
Khwājū,onefindsexplicitimageryofsexualunion,intimatedescriptionsofcarnal
intercourseofthefemalebelovedwithhermalelover.InKhwājū’sMathnawī-yi
Gul va Nawrūz,forinstance,thelove-makingofNawrūzwithGulisdescribedin
meticulousdetail.Theloverandhismistressarelikenedtoasingleheart(dil),one
ofthemcomposedofthefirstletteroftheword(Dal)andtheotheritssecondletter
(Lam),thetwoletterswhichmakeupthewordforheartinPersian.Oneisdescribed
aswine,andtheotherashoney,sothat‘beforethemlaythewineandhoney.In
theirpalmsweredatesandintheirmouthssugar.Nightanddaytheyweretrans-
portedbeyondthisrealmofdust,unawareofthewhirlingspheresofheaven.’^32 In
suchverse,theeroticbecomesthemetaphysical,thesentientsexualmadeequiva-
lenttothetranscendentalsuprasensual.AnidenticalsublimationoftheEroticinto
theSacredandsacralizationofsexualpleasureisalsofoundinḤāfiẓ’sverse.In
Khwājū,asinḤāfiẓ,onefindstheDantesque,andlaterPetrachean,notionthat
thereismorereligioninthethroesofearthlypassion,thoughmisdirected,thanin
theplatitudesofholybeautitudeshymnedbyroteforheaven’ssake,asShelley
expresseditsoperfectlyinhispoemAmorAeternus:

Wealthanddominionfadeintothemass

Ofthegreatseaofhumanrightandwrong,

Whenoncefromourpossessiontheymustpass;

Butlove,thoughmisdirected,isamong

Thethingswhichareimmortal,andsurpass

Allthatfrailstuff,whichwillbeor–whichwas.

ḤāfiẓapparentlyfollowedKhwājū’spoeticstyleandviewsclosely.^33 Duringthe
yearsKhwājūspentinShīrāztheywereclosefriends^34 andwefindnumerousghaz-
alsinwhichḤāfiẓrespondedtotheKirmānīpoet’sverse,andthereisevenafamous
verseattestingtohisfondnessforKhwājū:

AllagreethatSa‛dīisthemasterofghazal

ButḤāfiẓfollowsKhwājū’sgenreforstyle.^35

Aswesee,thereexistedanall-pervasivetraditionoferoticism,bothmetaphysical
andphysical,intheverseofatleastonecontemporarypoetwhomḤāfiẓexplicitly
admired.ḤāfiẓnotonlyvoiceshisadmirationofKhwājū’srhetoricalprowessinthe
artofverse,butpayshomagetotheKirmānīpoet’siconoclasticspiritualvision:his
laudingofinfidelityasbeingsuperiortopublicdisplaysofpharisaicasceticalpiety,
hisdeclarationthatloversdonotfollowtheconventionalwaysoforthodoxreli-
giouspietyandabstinence,hispursuitofnotorietyandglorificationofblameinthe
malāmatītradition,andpraiseofselflessnessasconstitutingtheessenceofthespir-
itualpath–SufidoctrinesthatarealsoofcentralsignificanceinḤāfiẓ’santi-clerical
eroticspirituality.^36

ḤāfiẓintheSocio-historical,LiteraryandMysticalMilieuofMedievalPersia 7