24‘I’veheardrumoursthatyou’veexecuted1,000peoplebyyourownhand’,Shāh
Shujā‘onceaskedhisfather.
‘Onthecontrary,itwasonly800maximum’^199 camethereassuringriposte.
Havingbeencursedandthreatenedwithdeathseveraltimesbyhisfather,^200
ShāhShujā‘hadforesightenoughtoblindandthendeposehim,snuffingout
thenastypuritanicalautocrattothedelightoftheShīrāzīintelligentsia.^201 Like
everyoneelse,Ḥāfiẓwasecstaticthatthepolicemanwasfinallydeadandgone.Ina
panegyricalghazaladdressedtoMubārizal-Dīn’smuchbelovedandadmiredvizier
AbūNaṣrAbū’l-Ma‘ālīin759/1357,^202 hecelebratedhisdemise:Thecopisgone!Howgreatthenews!Ohheart,ohGod,
Theworld’sfullofwineandale-drinkingdemigods.^203Ḥāfiẓ’sdelightinthenewlyliberatedatmosphereofthecityaftertheShāhShujā‘’s
parricideofhispuritanicalfatherisevidentfromoneofhisghazalsthatbegins:‘At
dawn,Iheardasupernaturalvoicethatconveyedgoodnewstome:“It’stheAgeof
Shujā‘–drinkwineandhavenofear”.’^204 DuringShāhShujā‘’slargelybenevolent
reign(761/1359–786/1384)^205 manyofḤāfiẓ’sgreatesteroticandbacchanalianlyrics
werecomposed,andscholarsclaimthatoverhalfthe(quitefew)referencesto
PersianprincesandpatronsinḤāfiẓ’sDīvānweretoShāhShujā‘.^206 Thereseemsto
havebeenmuchpersonalaffectionbetweenthem,^207 forthepoetandthemonarch
sharedmuchincommoninmattersoftasteandlearning.Bothhadmemorizedthe
Qur‘ān.Giventheevidentintimacybetweenthepoetandtheprince,somehistori-
ansspeculatehemighthaveheldapostinShāhShujā‘’sgovernment.^208
Themonarchwasadilettantescholarwithapowerfulmemorywhowaswidely
readinclassicalArabicandPersianliterature,Islamiclawandtheology.^209 Hewas
also a fair poet with a minorDīvān^210 to his name. The historian Mīrkhwand
recordedthat‘therearepoemsbothinArabicandPersianthathewrotethatpeo-
plestillrecitetoday’.^211
ḤāfiẓaddressedseveralpanegyricalghazalstoShāhShujā‘(inone,praisinghimas
‘thatepiphanyofpre-eternalGrace,lighttotheeyesofHope,thatcompendiumof
practiceandknowledge,thatAnimaMundi–ShāhShujā‘’),^212 aswellasonelongode
(qaṣīda).^213 Usingthepoeticdeviceof‘literarygreeting’(istiqbāl),healsowroteghaz-
alswhichpaidhomagetotheprince’sownpoems.^214 However,whilereputablehis-
toricalsourcesdoindeedattestthatShāhShujā‘wasanobjectofḤāfiẓ’spraise
(mamdūḥ),^215 hewasalsoanobjectofhisreproachandrebuke.Thus,inthesame
ghazal,referringtotheruler’sTurkishfamilyconnectionthroughhismother,Ḥāfiẓ
indirectlyreproachestherulerforlisteningtoslanderbythepoet’srivals.^216 Under
ShāhShujā‘’sreign,Ḥāfiẓ’sfamereacheditsapogee,withhimgainingrenownand
respectthroughouttheentirePersian-speakingworld.^217
Duringthefinaldecadeofthepoet’slifeinShīrāz,theinstabilityofpolitical
circumstancesincreasedasfortunesoftheMuẓaffariddynastybegantofluctuate
andwane.ShāhShujā‘’sson,Zaynal-‘Ābidīn,succeededhim,butonlyheldonto
ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry