4Qur’ānischantedmorebeautifullythananywhereelseintheMuslimworld.The
citywasalsolikeFlorenceinbeingbothhotlydecadentandahotbedofreligious
fervour,^5 withprayerassemblies,Qur’ānstudyclasses,Sufiséancesforsamā‘,lecture
hallsfullofpreacherscallingthepopulacetorepenttheirsins,reclusesandascetics
(zuhhād)downeverycornerandalley,^6 vignettesofwhichappeareverywherein
Ḥāfiẓ’sverse.
Thecityalsoprideditselfonvastcemeterieswithmausoleumsofitssaints.‘In
ShīrāzonethousandSufimastersandsaintsormorearefound’,boastedSa‛dīina
poemdescribingthecityinthethirteenthcentury,‘aroundwhoseheadtheKa‘ba
continuouslycircumambulates’.^7 ThemostinterestingworkonShīrāz’snecropolis
wasaworkpennedbyJunayd-iShīrāzīinḤāfiẓ’slifetimecalledThe Thousand
Mausoleums,aguidebooklandmarkingalltheimportanttombsassitesofvisitation
fortravellers,addinginasanextrafeatureabackdropaccountofthecity’sfamous
quarters.^8 Thisworkprovidedaveritabletouristguidetothesacredsitesand
shrinesofShīrāz,^9 andforvisitorswhoflockedtherefromalloverIslamdomgave
‘theimpressionthatthewholeofShīrāzconsistedofpiousSunnis’.^10 Amongthese
holysites,thetomboftheSufimasterIbnKhafīfofShīrāz(d.371/982),renowned
forhisasceticprowess,wasthemostpopularspotofweekendvisitationforthe
populaceofthecity,secondonlytoShāhChirāgh,thetombofAḥmadibnMūsā,
brotheroftheShi‘iteImām‘Alīal-Riḍā,slainin220/835.^11 IbnBaṭṭūṭadescribes
howTāshKhātun,themotherofSulṭānAbūIsḥāqĪnjū(reg.743/1343–753/1353:
therulerofShīrāzwhenḤāfiẓwasayouth),paidhomageto‘theImām,thePole,the
Saint,Abū‘Abdu’llāhIbnKhafīf,knowntothemastheShaikh,ensamplerofthe
wholelandofFarsandmuchreverencedbythem,sothattheycometohistomb
morningandeveningto seekablessing.TheKhātunvisits themosqueevery
Thursdaynight;thereisanoratoryandamadrasa,wherethejudgesandscholars
gatherastheydoattheshrineofAḥmadibnMūsā.’^12 TheabundanceofSufishrines
andcentres(khānaqāhs)inthirteenth-andfourteenth-centuryShīrāzmadethecity
renownedasthe‘CitadelofSaints’(burjal-awliyā’).^13
IbnBaṭṭūṭaalsorecounted‘thestrangecustom’ofseeingthousandsofwomen
fanningthemselvescoolinthesultrysummerheat,whocrowdedonMonday,
ThursdayandFridayafternoonsontothebalconiesoftheAncientMosquelistening
tofamouspreachersdiscourse.^14 ‘Ihaveneverseeninanylandsogreatanassem-
blyofwomen’,^15 heexclaimed,stunnedbytheirsight.Asidefromthebeautiesofthe
fairsexinShīrāz(withvignettesofwhomḤāfiẓ’sverseabounds),thecitywas
fabledforitsvastbazaar(IbnBaṭṭūṭathoughtitmoresumptuousthanthatin
Damascus),^16 dividedintosectionsbyguild(analleywayforfruitsellers,another
corridorforgoldsmiths,forclothmerchants,etc.).Shīrāz’sgardenswerefullof
fountains,theirrillslinedbyfragrantorangetreesandelegantcypresses:gardens
sobeautifulthattheyretainedtheirreputationasabywordforlovelypleasances
downtothenineteenth-centurywhentheRomanticpoets–GoetheandSchillerin
Germany;Shelley,KeatsandTennysoninEngland;andlaterintheearlytwentieth
centurythemodernistpoetRilke–induedtheirversewiththescentoftheroses
ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry