Hafiz and the Religion of Love in Classical Persian Poetry

ThoughthisassumptionthatdawnandtheAlbawasanaturalistic,ratherthana
mythopoeic,settingisfarwideofthemark,WickensdoesofferustwoPersian
examplesoftheAlbatheme,oneapassagefromFirdawsīdescribingZāl’strystwith
Rūdāba,whichledtothebirthofRustam,whichwewillpassoverhere,andthe
otherfromaghazalofSa‘dī,asfollows:

Imshabsabuktarmīzanandinṭabl-ibī-hangāmrā

yāvaqt-ibīdārīghalaṭbūd-astmurgh-ibāmrā

Yiklahẓabūdīn,yāshabī,k-az‛umr-imātārājshud

māham-chunānlabbarlabīnā-bar-giriftakāmrā

Hamtāza-ruyam,hamkhajil,hamshādmān,hamtang-dil

k-az‛uhdabīrūnāmadannatvānamīnpayghāmrā^21

Garpāybarfarqamnahītashrīf-iqurbatmīdahī

juzsarnimīdānamnihādaz‛udhr-iīniqdāmrā.^22

Chūnbakht-inīk-anjāmrābāmābi-kullīṣulḥshud

bugdhārtājānmīdahadbad-gū-yibad-farjāmrā

Sa‛dī‛alamshuddarjahān,ṣūfīyu‛āmīgūbidān

Mābut-parastīmīkunīmāngāhchunīnaṣnāmrā.

Wickensrendersthepoeminproseasfollows:

Tonighttheymustbebeatingmoreswiftlytheunwelcomewatchdrum,orelse

therooftop-birdhasmistakenthehourofwaking.Wasthisamomentora

wholenightthusplunderedfromourlives,andwestillliptolipwithourdesire

unsatisfied?NowsmilingamI,nowinconstraining,nowrejoicingandnowsad

atheart–stillIfailtoconveythismessage.Ifyoubutdeigntoplaceyourfoot

uponmyneck,youhonourmebyyourproximity:verilybutformylow-laid

headIknownowelcometoofferyourapproachingfootsteps.Sincegood

fortunehasatlastbecomereconciledtous,letthemalignantslanderersgo

hang!Sa‘dīhasbecomeamarkedmanintheeyesoftheworld:bidthemknow,

then,mysticsandmobalike–wemaybeidolators,butthenwhatidols!^23

IwouldhereliketoofferinfulfilmentofWickens’prescienthopetwofurther
PersianexamplesofAlbapoems,bothofwhichturnupinMudarris-iRaḍavī’s
editionoftheDīvānofSanā’ī.Thefirst(ghazal215)echoesstronglywiththeArabic
AlbaexampleofWalīdII,whichwascitedabove:

Mannaṣīb-ikhwīshdūshaz‛umr-ikhwudbardāshtam

k-azsamanbālīnuazshamshādbastardāshtam

Dāshtamdarbarnigārīrākiazdīdār-iū

pāya-yitakht-ikhwudazkhwurshīdbartardāshtam

Nargisushamshādusūsan,mushkusīmumāhugul

tābihangām-isaḥarharhaftdarbardāshtam

Ḥāfiẓ’sRomanticImageryandLanguageofLove 255