324 Hadewijch of Antwerp, Blessed
Dynasty, trans. Cathleen and Hans Epstein (London:
Sidgwick and Jackson, 1964); Andrew Wheatcroft, The
Habsburgs: Embodying Empire(New York: Penguin Books,
1995).
Hadewijch of Antwerp, Blessed (Hedwig, Suster
Hadewych)(fl. 1220–1260)mystical Dutch poetess
Little is known about her life. Hadewijch of Antwerp was
active, according to references in her work, in the first
half of the 13th century in BRABANT. Her literary and the-
ological abilities testified to a good education within an
aristocratic milieu. According to her letters, she was the
spiritual guide of a small group of women, probably
BEGUINES. Her poetry, preserved in four manuscripts, was
rediscovered only in the 19th century.
Hadewijch was important as a creator of Dutch
prose, a fine poetess, and a much loved spiritual director.
She wrote Visions, Strophic Poems,and Poemsin rhyming
couplets. The strophic poems, 45 in number, were
inspired by contemporary courtly poetry, whose images,
rhymes, and rhythms she used skillfully. They offered a
repeated theme of her love and passionate quest for a
spiritual union with GOD. The 14 Visions drew their
images from the APOCALYPSE. A set of 30 letters of direc-
tion or treatises summarized her doctrine and desire to
participate in God’s very being. Hadewijch created a theo-
logical and mystical vocabulary that would be taken up
by Jan van RUYSBROECK. She also influenced some mem-
bers of the congregation of Windesheim. She died about
1260, but where she is buried is unknown.
See alsoMYSTICISM, CHRISTIAN; VISIONS AND DREAMS.
Further reading: Hadewijch, The Complete Works,
trans. Columba Hart (New York: Paulist Press, 1980);
Tanis M. Guest, Some Aspects of Hadewijch’s Poetic Form in
the “Strofische gedichten”(The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff,
1975); John Giles Milhaven, Hadewijch and Her Sisters:
Other Ways of Loving and Knowing(Albany: State Univer-
sity of New York Press, 1993); Theodoor Weevers, Poetry
of the Netherlands in Its European Context, 1170–1930
(London: University of London, Athlone Press, 1960).
hadith (conversation, narrative, talk, report, tradition)
The Arabic word hadithmeans “recital,” “talk,” but with
an article, al-hadith,it designated a collection of the tradi-
tional acts or the words of MUHAMMAD. The sunna,or the
“normative custom of the Prophet,” was collected and
preserved in it. In ISLAM, the “science of hadith” has been
at the core of all theological study. The hadith related
what the Prophet, or one of his companions, a person of
the next generation or a “follower,” was held to have said
or done with regard to a problem. The content of the
hadith has occupied a central place in Muslim law and
jurisprudence. From the eighth century, the hadith con-
sisted of two parts: guarantees of the veracity of the trans-
mission and the text (matn) of what was said or done.
Putting the hadith into writing began during the
period of the companions and followers. Some then
were probably opposed to this recording of such
traditions. The Prophet’s words were never be confused
with the clearly divine text of the Quran, a distinction
not always made in the early period. A systematic
organization of material began around 800. One of the
most important early collections was that of Ahmad IBN
HANBALin the ninth century.At the end of their early
period of codification, several collections acquired a
particular fame, such as those by al-Bukhari (d. 870)
and of Muslim (d. 875).
Collectors of these traditions sometimes questioned
their authenticity and developed standards of accuracy
and authenticity to apply to the texts. This concern
for authenticity was of great importance to ISLAM and
aroused much passionate dispute.
Further reading:Binyamin Abrahamov, Islamic The-
ology: Traditionalism and Rationalism(Edinbugh: Edin-
burgh University Press, 1998); Munawar A. Anee, Guide
to Sira and Hadith Literature in Western Languages(Lon-
don: Mansell, 1986); John Burton, An Introduction to the
Hadith(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1994);
G. H. A. Juynboll, Muslim Tradition: Studies in Chronology,
Provenance, and Authorship of Early Hadith(Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1983).Hafiz(al-Shirazi, Khwadja Shams al-Din Muhammad
ibn Baha al-Din)(ca. 1325–1389/90) Persian mystic and
lyric poet
Hafiz was born about 1325 in Shiraz, the capital of the
province of Fars in IRAN. He grew up in an age when Per-
sian poetry was about to reach the zenith of its accom-
plishment. For Hafiz his contribution was lyrical poetry,
in a metrical form called the ghazalor ghazel.
As a student, Hafiz learned the QURANby heart. His
name Hafiz means “memorizer of the Quran.” His poetry
proved that he was very well versed in the literary styles
of his day. As were all Persian poets of the time, Hafiz
was a court poet and panegyrist dependent on the good-
will of a Sunni patron. As a SHIITEMuslim, Hafiz had to
be tactful in the subjects he chose.
There was another religious force underlying the
poetry of Hafiz, which was SUFISM, a mystical movement.
By the 14th century his poetry had acquired a conven-
tional system of symbols and used as standards forms of
the poetic imagery. However, he was persecuted by Shiite
religious leaders for his poems about wine.
By the time he was age 30, the poetic talents of Hafiz
had been recognized, and he was appointed to the court
of the vizier of Shiraz. During these years his fame spread
throughout the Islamic world, but he declined all invita-
tions to move to another court. In 1387, after TAMERLANE
had conquered all of Iran, he traveled to Shiraz to visit
Hafiz for two months. By this time the most fruitful