Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

unmistakeablydepictHerasamother-birdcarryingtheheroZāltoHernest,toHer
chicks,andtoHerunhatchedeggs).
Conversely,onemightarguethatitwasthesheerdifficultyofaccesstofemale
society,foradultmalesinthispoet’sculture,thatenhancedtheverymysteryand
poeticpowerofthesymbolismoftheVeil.^25 Servilepage-boysmightavailably
pourwineatmalelords’dinnerparties,butcountlessclassicalPersianverses
stresstheremotenessofthehiddenanddesiredLadyastheHiddenOne,dwelling
withmysticalraptureontheideaofthesuddenrevelationoftheBeloved’sfeatures
emergingfromHerVeil.Insuchaculturalcontext,thatisreallyfeminineimagery.
TheVeil(ḥijāb,niqāb,parda)neednotreferonlytotheLady’soutdoorgarment,
butmayalsomeanHernight-darktressesthatframehercountenancesparklinglike
unto moonlight (mirroring the sunlike Divine). Although the pronoun’s gender
remainsamatterofchoice,Charles-HenrideFouchécour’salready(anddeservedly)
classictranslationofḤāfiẓcould,Ithink,feminizetheBelovedofghazal216,where
Sheintermittently,teasinglyandcruellysnatchesHerVeilingTressesfromHer
Lover’sgraspandhidesHercountenancebehindthem,inverbalplayuponthemys-
ticalnotionofiltibāsor‘veiling’–asifShewere,indeed,theLadyoftheRedPavilion:

Chūdastbarsar-izulfashzanam,bitābravad!

Varāshtīṭalabam,bāsar-i‘itābravad!

Chūmāh-inaw,rah-yinazzārigān-ibīchāra

Zanadbigūsha-yiabrūudarniqābravad!

WhenIcarrymyhandtothetipofHercurl,

Sheangrilyseethes!

IfpeaceIimplore,thenSheutterlyblamesme!

Likeanewmoon,shewaylaysHergazerswretchéd

WithacutfromHereyebrow’scorner–

ThenhidesagainwithinHerVeil!^26

WhentheVeillifts,afurtherarrestingimagestruckinḤāfiẓ’sverseisthemiḥrāb-
likeshapethattheloverperceivesinthetwin-archedeyebrowsoftheBeloved’s
countenance. The metaphor signifies unmistakeably the mystery oftajallī,the
Divine‘epiphany’:theBeloved’sfaceisthedirectiontowardswhichthetruedevo-
teemustturn,liketheKoranicangelsoncecommandedbytheLordtoworshipthe
humanformasthesupremelocusofGod’schosenvisiblemanifestation.Ḥāfiẓ
writesinanotherghazal:

Darṣawma‘a-yizāhidukhalvat-iṢūfī,

Juz’gūsha-yiabrū-yiTu,miḥrāb-idu‘ānīst.

Inthehermit’sretreatandSufi’sloneabode,

SaveinyourEyebrow’scorner,noprayer’smiḥrābexists!^27

Ḥāfiẓ’s Romantic Imagery and Language of Love 223