Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

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mentiontheoeroticsensibility,poeticvision,mysticalpersuasionandmetaphysical
thought,exhibitanoverallconcordance.^58
Belongingtothenextgeneration,butevidentlywellknowntoḤāfiẓ,wasShāh
Ni‘matullāhWalī(d.835/1431),thegreatestSufimasteroftheTimuridperiod.Ḥāfiẓ
apparentlyhadscantpersonalregardforhim,respondingtooneofhisghazalsin
suchamannerastoexposehisprofounddifferenceofopinioninrespecttothefor-
mer’sspiritualclaims.Sowhilesome‘correspondence’betweenthetwopoetsdid
exist,ithardlytranscendedthesuperficialliterarylevel.^59 WhileShāhNi‘matullāh
andḤāfiẓwerediscordantintheirspiritualsensibilitiesdespiteanoccasionalsuper-
ficialconcordanceofpoeticrhyme,ShāhNi‘matullāh’sforemostdisciple,thegreat
TabrīzīSufipoetShāhQāsimAnvār(d.838/1434),veneratedthepoetryofḤāfiẓand
professedinhisversethesameuniversalReligionofLovefoundintheDīvānsof
Ḥāfiẓ,Khwājū,Salmān,‘ImādandKamāl.Thesefollowingoft-citedversegivesa
tasteofShāhQāsim’stranscendentallovemysticism:

Inpagodaandmosque,inKa‘baandtavern,

TheGodofLoveisthesoleaim

Andalltherestarejustmoonshine.^60

Qāsim’slinewasdirectlypatternedonthefollowingversefromaghazalcomposed
byḤāfiẓinthesamemetreandrhyme:

Allthreeareone:theboon-companion,

ThemusicianandtheSaki,andwhat’sbetwixt

Them–thisearthenandwateryveil–isjustapretext.^61

Themajor–perhapsthemostunusual–poetcontemporarywithḤāfiẓinShīrāzwas
theextraordinarysocialsatiristandmasterparodist‘Ubayd-iZākānī(d.772/1371).^62
Aseriouscourtpoetknownforhismellifluousbachanalianghazalsinthestyleof
Sa‛dī,‘UbaydwastheauthorofqaṣīdasinpraiseofAbūIsḥāqĪnjūandShāhShujā‘
andotherlocalrulers.^63 Timesandtasteschange.Todayheisregaledasclassical
Persia’schiefpornographerbothinproseandverse.DuetoitsdistinctlyAdultXXX
content,hisboldandfantasticalsexuallyexplicitverse(andprose),whichmanytra-
ditionalscholarscontinuetodenigrateas‘worthless’,^64 ofcourseremainsunprint-
ableinIran’swould-beIslamicRepublic.^65 Throughout‘Ubayd’proseandversethe
samerabidlyanti-clericalsentimentspresentinḤāfiẓfrequentlyappear–aswhen
hedeclareshimselfthefoeof‘preacherswithchillybreath’,andtheenemyof‘hypo-
criticalSufishaykhs’.^66 ‘Ubayd’scaustic,sarcasticstyle,hiscourtingofnotorietyand
ill-fame(bad-nāmī)^67 –hisparodyingofhypocriticalMuslimclerics,lampooningof
fakeSufisandspoofsonproudascetics–arereplicatedexactlyinḤāfiẓ’spoems.^68
Althoughtheserefinedcaricaturesofreligioushypocritesdidhaveaninfluenceon
Ḥāfiẓ,whowashisjunior,^69 hisbawdysatiresonthesocietyofmedievalShīrāzwere
notbyanymeans,assomescholarsassert,^70 thechiefinspirationunderlyingḤāfiẓ’s

ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry