View source for Hafez

{{short description|Persian poet and mystic (1325–1390)}}
{{About|the 14th century Persian poet|other uses of this name|Hafiz (disambiguation){{!}}Hafiz}}

{{Infobox writer
| name          = Hafez
| image         = The_Soviet_Union_1971_CPA_3997_stamp_(Hafez).png
| imagesize     =
| caption       = A [[Tajik SSR|Tajik]] [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] stamp depicting Hafez
| birth_name    =
| birth_date    = {{c.|1325}}
| birth_place   = [[Shiraz]], [[Muzaffarids (Iran)|Muzaffarid Iran]]
| death_date    = {{death year and age|1390|1325}}
| death_place   = Shiraz, [[Timurid Empire|Timurid Iran]]
| resting_place = [[Tomb of Hafez]], Shiraz, Iran
| occupation    = Poet
| language      = {{cslist|[[Persian language|Persian]]|[[Arabic]]}}
| notableworks  = ''[[The Divān of Hafez]]''
| children      =
| genres = [[Mysticism|Mystic]] [[poetry]] ([[Ghazal]], [[Irfan]]) Spiritual poet, mystic
| nationality      = [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]]
}}

'''{{Transliteration|fa|Khājeh Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī|italics=no}}''' ({{langx|fa|{{Nastaliq|خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی}}}}), known by his [[pen name]] '''Hafez''' ({{lang|fa|{{Nastaliq|حافظ}}}} {{Transliteration|fa|Ḥāfeẓ}} {{Lit|the memorizer}} or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or '''Hafiz''',<ref name="britannica">{{citation |title=Ḥāfeẓ {{!}} Persian author |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hafez |access-date=2018-08-06 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica}}

“Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart"</ref> also known by his nickname '''lesān-al-ḡayb''' ('the tongue of the unseen'),<ref>{{Cite web |title=HAFEZ i. AN OVERVIEW |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-i/ |access-date=2025-04-16 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica |language=en-US}}</ref> was a [[Persians|Persian]] [[Lyric poetry|lyric poet]]<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez|title= HAFEZ |last= Encyclopaedia Iranica |website= www.iranicaonline.org|language= en|access-date= 2018-08-06|quote='''HAFEZ''' (Ḥāfeẓ)''', Šams-al-Din Moḥammad, of Shiraz''' (ca. 715-792/1315-1390), celebrated Persian lyric poet.}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last= de Fouchécour|first= Charles-Henri|date= 2018-07-01|title= Ḥāfiẓ|url= https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3/hafiz-COM_30175?s.num=14|journal= Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE|quote= Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ was a Persian lyric poet who lived in Shiraz from about 715/1315 to 792/1390.}}</ref> whose collected works are regarded by many [[Iranian peoples|Iranians]] as one of the highest pinnacles of [[Persian literature]]. His works are often found in the homes of Persian speakers, who learn his poems by heart and use them as everyday proverbs and sayings. His life and poems have become the subjects of much analysis, commentary, and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other Persian author.<ref>Yarshater. Accessed 25 July 2010.</ref><ref>[[Aga Khan&nbsp;III]], [http://www.amaana.org/sultweb/msmhafiz.htm "Hafiz and the Place of Iranian Culture in the World"], November 9, 1936 London.</ref>

Hafez is best known for his ''[[The Divān of Hafez|Divān]]'', a collection of his surviving poems probably compiled after his death. His works can be described as "[[Antinomianism#Islamic antinomianism|antinomian]]"<ref>"Hafez's Poetic Art". ''Encyclopaedia Iranica''. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-iii Accessed August 23, 2016.</ref> and with the medieval use of the term "theosophical"; the term "[[Christian theosophy#Antiquity and medieval ending c. 1450 CE|theosophy]]" in the 13th and 14th centuries was used to indicate mystical work by "authors only inspired by the [[Islamic holy books]]" (as distinguished from [[theology]]). Hafez primarily wrote in the [[literary genre]] of [[lyric poetry]] or [[ghazals]], which is the ideal style for expressing the ecstasy of [[divine inspiration]] in the [[Mysticism#Islamic mysticism|mystical]] form of love poems. He was a [[Sufi]].<ref name="britannica" />

Themes of his ghazals include the beloved, faith and exposing hypocrisy. In his ghazals, he deals with love, wine and taverns, all presenting [[religious ecstasy]] and [[freedom from restraint]], whether in actual worldly release or in the voice of the lover.<ref>{{Iranica|hafez-iii}}</ref> His influence on Persian speakers appears in [[bibliomancy|divination by his poems]] ({{langx|fa|links=no|{{Nastaliq|فال حافظ}}|fāl-e hāfez}}, somewhat similar to the Roman tradition of ''[[Sortes Vergilianae]]'') and in the frequent use of his poems in [[Persian traditional music]], visual art and [[Persian calligraphy]]. [[Tomb of Hafez|His tomb]] is located in his birthplace of [[Shiraz]]. Adaptations, imitations, and translations of his poems exist in all major languages.

==Life==
[[File:Divan-of-Hafiz-1842-Doublures.jpg|thumb|[[Doublure (bookbinding)|Doublures]] inside a 19th-century copy of the Divān of Hafez. The front doublure shows Hafez offering his work to a [[Patronage|patron]].]]
Hafez was born in [[Shiraz]], Iran and identified as a [[Sufi Muslim]].<ref name="britannica" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Khan |first=Gulfishan |date=2009 |title=Muslim-Western Cultural Encounter in the Eighteenth Century: The Impact of Ḥāfiẓ Shīrāzī's Poetry on Europe |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20839153 |journal=Islamic Studies |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=35–87 |doi=10.52541/isiri.v48i1.3685 |jstor=20839153 |issn=0578-8072}}</ref> Few details of his life are known and accounts of his early life rely upon traditional anecdotes. Early ''[[Tadhkirah (disambiguation)|tazkira]]s'' (biographical sketches) mentioning Hafez are generally considered unreliable.<ref>[[#reflhp|Lit. Hist. Persia]] III, pp. 271-73</ref> At an early age, he memorized the [[Quran]]. He was given the title of ''[[Hafiz (Quran)|Hafez]]'', which he later used as his pen name.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_aAoP3JaI_sC&pg=PA166|title=Islam: A Thousand Years of Faith and Power|author=Jonathan, Bloom|year=2002|publisher=Yale University Press|page=166|isbn=0-300-09422-1|access-date=2015-03-21}}</ref> The preface of his Divān, in which his early life is discussed, was written by an unknown contemporary whose name may have been Moḥammad Golandām.<ref name="Khorramshahi">Khorramshahi. Accessed 25 July 2010</ref> Two of the most highly regarded modern editions of Hafez's ''Divān'' are compiled by [[Allame Mohammad Qazvini]] and Qāsem Ghani (495 ghazals) and by [[Parviz Natel-Khanlari]] (486 ghazals).<ref name="Lewisohn, p. 69">Lewisohn, p. 69.</ref><ref>Gray, pp. 11-12. Gray notes that Ghazvini's and Gani's compilation in 1941 relied on the earliest texts known at that time and that none of the four texts they used were related to each other. Since then, she adds, more than 14 earlier texts have been found, but their relationships to each other have not been studied.</ref>

Modern scholars generally agree that he was born either in 1315 or 1317, although Gulfishan Khan suggests he was born in 1320.<ref name=":2" /> According to an account by [[Jami]], Hafez died in 1390.<ref name="Khorramshahi" /><ref>Lewisohn, p. 67</ref> He was supported by [[patronage]] from several successive local regimes: Shah [[Abu Ishaq Inju|Abu Ishaq]], who came to power while Hafez was in his teens; [[Timur]] at the end of his life; and even the strict ruler Shah Mubariz ud-Din Muhammad ([[Muzaffarids of Iran|Mubariz Muzaffar]]). Though his work flourished most under the 27-year rule of Jalal ud-Din Shah Shuja ([[Shah Shuja (Muzaffarid)|Shah Shuja]]),<ref name="Gray">Gray, pp. 2-4.</ref> it is claimed Hāfez briefly fell out of favor with Shah Shuja for mocking inferior poets (Shah Shuja wrote poetry himself and may have taken the comments personally), forcing Hāfez to flee from Shiraz to [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]] and [[Yazd]], however, no historical evidence to corroborate this is available.<ref name="Gray" /> Hafez also exchanged letters and poetry with [[Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah]], the [[Sultan of Bengal]], who invited him to [[Sonargaon]] though he could not make it.<ref>{{cite Banglapedia|article=Ghiyasuddin Azam Shah|author=Ahmed, ABM Shamsuddin}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailystar.net/star-weekend/heritage/the-persian-candy-106348|author=Haider, MH|title=The Persian candy|website=[[The Daily Star (Bangladesh)]]|date=3 July 2015}}</ref><ref>Jafri, Sardar. “Hafiz Shirazi (1312-1387-89).” Social Scientist, vol. 28, no. 1/2, 2000, pp. 12–31. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3518055. Accessed 31 Jan. 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Journey to Persia and Iraq|author=[[Rabindranath Tagore]]|page=47|year=1932}}</ref> Hafez was also a contemporary of the famous [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Shafi'i school|Shaf'iite]] theologian [[Adud al-Din al-Iji]] - who he praised as one of the five notables of [[Fars province|Farz]].<ref>https://referenceworks.brill.com/display/entries/EIRO/COM-2596.xml?rskey=TUgTur

In a famous ''qeṭʿa'' beginning with ''be ʿahd-e salṭanat-e Šāh Šayḵ Abu Esḥāq'' / ''be panj šāḵs ʿajab molk-e Fārs bud ābād'' (Ḵ. II, ''Qeṭ.'' 9, tr. Browne, ''Lit. Hist. Persia'' III, p. 276), praising five notables whose achievements brought prosperity to the land of Fārs, the poet refers to Qāżi ʿAżod-al-Din Iji and his famous manual of theology, ''Ketāb al-mawāqef fi ʿelm al-kalām'' (Van Ess, p. 1022; Schimmel, pp. 929-30).</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-20 |title=Ījī, ʿAḍud al-Dīn al- {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/iji-adud-al-din-al |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=archive.ph |archive-date=2024-07-20 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240720071536/https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/iji-adud-al-din-al |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=ʿAŻOD-AL-DĪN ĪJĪ |doi=10.1163/2330-4804_eiro_com_6222 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Twenty years after his death, [[Tomb of Hafez|a tomb was erected]] to honor Hafez in the Musalla Gardens in Shiraz. The current [[mausoleum]] was designed by [[André Godard]], a French [[Archaeology|archeologist]] and [[Architecture|architect]], in the late 1930s, and the tomb is raised on a [[dais]] amidst [[rose]] gardens, water channels, and orange trees. Inside, Hafez's [[alabaster]] [[sarcophagus]] bears the inscription of two of his poems.<ref name="iranica-godard">{{iranica|GODARD, ANDRÉ}}</ref>

==Legends==
[[File:Depiction of Hafiz, painted by Sultan Muhammad circa 1531, Cartier Hafiz.jpg|thumb|Depiction of Hafiz reading a book, painted by [[Sultan Mohammed]] circa 1531. ''[[:File:Folio Divan Hafiz Met 1988.430.jpg|Allegory of drunkenness]]'' (detail), in the ''[[Cartier Hafiz]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Welch |first1=Stuart Cary |title=Persian painting : five royal Safavid manuscripts of the sixteenth century |date=1976 |publisher=New York : G. Braziller |isbn=978-0-8076-0812-8 |page=69 |url=https://archive.org/details/persianpaintingf0000welc/page/69/mode/2up |quote=Hafiz himself, popeyed with booze or religious inspiration, sits in a window above the huge wine jars.}}</ref>]]
Many semi-miraculous mythical tales were woven around Hafez after his death. It is said that by listening to his father's recitations, Hafez had accomplished the task of learning the [[Quran]] by heart at an early age (that is [[Hafiz (Qur'an)|the meaning of the word ''Hafez'']]). At the same time, he is said to have known by heart the works of [[Rumi]], [[Saadi (poet)|Saadi]], [[Attar Neyshapuri]], and [[Nizami Ganjavi]].

According to one tradition, before meeting his self-chosen [[shaykh|Sufi master]] [[Hajji Zayn al-Attar]], Hafez had been working in a bakery, delivering bread to a wealthy quarter of the town. There, he first saw Shakh-e Nabat, a woman of great beauty, to whom some of his poems are addressed. Ravished by her beauty but knowing that his love for her would [[unrequited love|not be requited]], he allegedly held his first mystic vigil in his desire to realize this union. Still, he encountered a being of surpassing beauty who identified himself as an [[angel]], and his further attempts at union became mystic; a pursuit of spiritual union with the divine.

At 60, he is said to have begun a [[chilla-nashini]], a 40-day-and-night vigil by sitting in a circle that he had drawn for himself. On the 40th day, he once again met with Zayn al-Attar on what is known to be their fortieth anniversary and was offered a cup of [[Shirazi wine]]. It was there where he is said to have attained "Cosmic Consciousness". He hints at this episode in one of his verses in which he advises the reader to attain "clarity of wine" by letting it "sit for 40 days".

In one tale, [[Timur]] angrily summoned Hafez to account for one of his verses:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
<poem>
'agar 'ān Tork-e Šīrāzī * be dast ārad del-ē mā-rā
be khāl-ē Hendu-yaš baxšam * Samarqand ō Boxārā-rā</poem>
{{col-break}}
<poem>
If that Shirazi Turk accepts my heart in their hand,
for their Indian mole I will give Samarkand and Bukhara.</poem>
{{col-end}}
[[Samarkand]] was Timur's capital and [[Bukhara]] was the kingdom's finest city. "With the blows of my lustrous sword", Timur complained, "I have subjugated most of the habitable globe... to embellish Samarkand and Bokhara, the seats of my government; and you would sell them for the black mole of some girl in Shiraz!"

Hafez, the tale goes, bowed deeply and replied, "Alas, O Prince, it is this prodigality which is the cause of the misery in which you find me". So surprised and pleased was Timur with this response that he dismissed Hafez with handsome gifts.<ref name="Gray" />

==Influence==

===Intellectual and artistic legacy===
[[File:شعر میهای چوکونائی ویتز.jpg|[[Mihály Csokonai]], a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] poet, composed this piece of poetry in Persian rhythmical versification (ramal). It proves that this Persian metre and therefore the poems of Hafez have already been known generally in Hungary in the 18th century.|thumbnail]]
Hafez was acclaimed throughout the [[Islamic world]] during his lifetime, with other [[List of Persian-language poets|Persian poets]] imitating his work, and offers of patronage from [[Baghdad]] to [[India]].<ref name="Gray" />

European scholars began to translate Hafez's work from the 17th Century.<ref name=":2" /> The earliest translation of Hafez's poetic compositions is by [[Franciscus a Mesgnien Meninski|Francois de Mesgnien Meninski]] who was the first court interpreter for the government of the Ottoman Empire, or [[Ottoman Porte]]. [[Thomas Hyde]], Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford translated Hafez's work into Latin in around 1690, according to Gulfishan Khan. Hyde taught himself Persian and translated the work with the assistance of a Turkish commentary.<ref name=":2" />

His work was first translated into English in 1771 by [[William Jones (philologist)|William Jones]]. It would leave a mark on such Western writers as [[Thoreau]], [[Goethe]], [[W. B. Yeats]], in his prose anthology book of essays, ''Discoveries'',<ref>[https://archive.org/details/discoveriesvolum00yeatrich/mode/2up Discoveries]</ref> as well as gaining a positive reception within [[West Bengal]], in India, among some of the most prolific religious leaders and poets in this province, [[Debendranath Tagore]], [[Rabindranath Tagore]]'s father, who knew [[Persian language|Persian]] and used to recite from Hafez's Divans and in this line, Gurudev himself, who, during his visit to Persia in 1932, also made a homage visit to Hafez's tomb in [[Shiraz]]<ref>[https://archive.org/details/autobiographyofm00thakuoft/mode/2up The autobiography of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/RABINDRANATHTAGORE_201807/mode/2up? RABINDRANATH TAGORE]</ref>  and [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] (the last referred to him as "a poet's poet").<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kane |first1=Paul |title=EMERSON AND HAFIZ: THE FIGURE OF THE RELIGIOUS POET |journal=Religion & Literature |date=Spring 2009 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=111–139}}; "that Emerson claims for the domain of poetry Hafiz may turn out to be a poet's poet"</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Delphi Collected Poetical Works of Hafez |date=2017 |publisher=Delphi Classics |isbn=978-1786562104 |page=10}}</ref> Sir [[Arthur Conan Doyle]] has his character [[Sherlock Holmes]] state that "there is as much sense in Hafiz as in [[Horace]], and as much knowledge of the world" (in [[A Case of Identity]]). [[Friedrich Engels]] mentioned him in an 1853 letter to [[Karl Marx]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Letters: Marx-Engels correspondence|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1853/letters/53_06_06.htm|access-date=15 January 2012|archive-date=October 16, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016235242/http://marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1853/letters/53_06_06.htm}}</ref> [[Elias John Wilkinson Gibb|Elias John Winkinson Gibb]] dedicates a 'Villanelle to Hafiz' in his 1902 work ''Verses and Translations'' and [[Reynold A. Nicholson|Reynold Alleyen Nicholson]], in 1911, dedicates a poem titled 'Hafiz' in his publication ''The Don and the Dervish''.<ref name=":2" />

There is no definitive version of his collected works (or ''Dīvān''); editions vary from 573 to 994 poems. Only since the 1940s has a sustained scholarly attempt (by [[Mas'ud Farzad]], [[Qasim Ghani]] and others in [[Iran]]) been made to authenticate his work and to remove errors introduced by later [[copyist]]s and censors. However, the reliability of such work has been questioned,<ref>Michael Hillmann in ''Rahnema-ye Ketab'', 13 (1971), "Kusheshha-ye Jadid dar Shenakht-e Divan-e Sahih-e Hafez"</ref> and in the words of Hāfez scholar [[Iraj Bashiri]], "there remains little hope from there (i.e., Iran) for an authenticated diwan".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Hafiz/Hafiz.html |title=Hafiz' Shirazi Turk: A Structuralist's Point of View |access-date=2013-08-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301031207/http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Hafiz/Hafiz.html |archive-date=2014-03-01 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===In contemporary Iranian culture===
Hafez is the most popular poet in Iran. His works can be found in almost every Iranian home.<ref name="darke">{{cite news|last=Darke|first=Diana|title=The book in every Iranian home|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-29648166|work=BBC|date=1 November 2014}}</ref> In fact, October 12 is celebrated as Hafez Day in [[Iran]].<ref>Hossein Kaji, [http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=393152 "Hafez’s incomparable position in Iranian culture: October 12 is Hafez Day in Iran"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015160848/http://mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=393152 |date=2007-10-15}}, [[Mehr News Agency|Mehrnews]]. ''[[Tehran Times]]'' Opinion Column, October 12, 2006.</ref>

[[File:Annual celebration of the Chelcharagh magazine (22 8610030051 L600).jpg|thumb|[[President Mohammad Khatami]] with actress [[Fatemeh Motamed-Aria]] in 2007 [[Yaldā Night|Yalda night]] use Divan of Hafez for [[fortune telling]].]]
His tomb is "crowded with devotees" who visit the site and the atmosphere is "festive" with visitors singing and reciting their favorite Hafez poems.<ref name="darke" />

Many Iranians use Divan of Hafez for [[bibliomancy]].<ref>[[Massoud Khalili#September 9, 2001]] Massoud Khalili speaking to BBC correspondent Lyse Doucet</ref> Iranian families usually have a ''Divan'' in their house, and when they get together during the [[Nowruz]] or [[Yaldā Night]], they open it to a random page and read the poem on it, which they believe to be an indication of things that will happen in the future.<ref>[[:fa:حافظ]]</ref>

===In Iranian music===
In the genre of [[Persian traditional music]], Hafez, along with [[Saadi Shirazi]], have been the most popular poets in the art of āvāz, non-metered form of singing.  Also the form 'Sāqi-Nāmeh' in the radif of Persian music is based on the same title by Hafez.  A number of contemporary composers such as [[Parviz Meshkatian]] (Sheydaie), [[Hossein Alizadeh]] (Ahu-ye Vahshi), [[Mohammad-Reza Lotfi|Mohammad Reza Lotfi]] (Golestān), and Siamak Aghaie (Yād Bād) have composed metric songs (tasnif) based on ghazals of Hafez which have become very popular in the genre of classical music.  [[Hayedeh]] performed the song "Padeshah-e Khooban", with music by [[Farid Zoland]]. The [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] composer [[Buhurizade Mustafa Itri]] composed his magnum opus Neva Kâr based upon one of Hafez's poems. The Polish composer [[Karol Szymanowski]] composed [[The Love Songs of Hafiz]] based upon a German translation of Hafez poems.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

===In Afghan music===
Many Afghan singers, including [[Ahmad Zahir]] and [[Abdul Rahim Sarban]], have composed songs such as "Ay Padeshah-e Khooban", "Gar-Zulfe Parayshanat".{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}

==Interpretation==
[[File:Hafis Abu Ishaq.png|thumb|Hafez (left) in a conversation with Abu Ishaq Indjou (right). Painting on Paper in [[Mughal painting|Mughal style]], 18th century]]
The question of whether his work is to be interpreted literally, mystically, or both has been a source of contention among western scholars.<ref>Schroeder, Eric, "The Wild Deer Mathnavi" in ''The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism'', Vol. 11, No. 2, Special Issue on Oriental Art and Aesthetics (December 1952), p.118</ref> On the one hand, some of his early readers such as [[William Jones (philologist)|William Jones]] saw in him a conventional lyricist similar to European love poets such as [[Petrarch]].<ref>[[William Jones (philologist)|Jones, William]] (1772) "Preface" in ''Poems, Consisting Chiefly of Translations from the Asiatick Tongues'' p. iv</ref> Others scholars such as [[Henry Wilberforce Clarke]] saw him as purely a poet of didactic, ecstatic [[mysticism]] in the manner of [[Rumi]], a view that a minority of twentieth century critics and literary historians have come to challenge.<ref>Dick Davis: Hafez Faces of Love and the Poets of Shiraz, introduction</ref> [[Ralph Waldo Emerson]] rejected the Sufistic view of wine in Hafez's poems.<ref>{{cite web |title=EMERSON, RALPH WALDO – Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/emerson |website=www.iranicaonline.org |access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref>

This confusion stems from the fact that, early in Persian literary history, the poetic vocabulary was usurped by mystics, who believed that the ineffable could be better approached in poetry than in prose. In composing poems of mystic content, they imbued every word and image with mystical undertones, causing mysticism and lyricism to converge into a single tradition. As a result, no fourteenth-century Persian poet could write a [[Lyric poetry|lyrical poem]] without having a flavor of mysticism forced on it by the poetic vocabulary itself.<ref>Thackston, Wheeler: ''A Millennium of Classical Persian Poetry'', Ibex Publishers Inc. 1994, p.&nbsp;ix in "Introduction"</ref><ref>Davis, Dick, "On Not Translating Hafez" in the ''[[New England Review]]'' 25:1-2 [2004]: 310-18</ref> While some poets, such as [[Ubayd Zakani]], attempted to distance themselves from this fused mystical-lyrical tradition by writing [[satire]]s, Hafez embraced the fusion and thrived on it. [[Wheeler Thackston]] has said of this that Hafez "sang a rare blend of human and mystic love so balanced... that it is impossible to separate one from the other".<ref>[[Wheeler Thackston|Thackston, Wheeler]], ''A Millennium of Classical Persian Poetry'', Ibex Publishers Inc.' 1994, p.64</ref>

For reasons such as that, the history of the translation of Hāfez is fraught with complications, and few translations into western languages have been wholly successful.

One of the figurative gestures for which he is most famous (and which is among the most difficult to translate) is ''[[īhām]]'' or artful [[pun]]ning. Thus, a word such as ''gowhar'', which could mean both "essence, truth" and "pearl", would take on ''both'' meanings at once as in a phrase such as "a pearl/essential truth outside the shell of superficial existence".

Hafez often took advantage of the aforementioned lack of distinction between lyrical, mystical, and [[panegyric]] writing by using highly intellectualized, elaborate [[metaphor]]s and images to suggest multiple possible meanings. For example, a [[couplet]] from one of Hafez's poems reads:{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}<!--whose translation? Source?-->
{{poemquote|Last night, from the cypress branch, the nightingale sang,
In Old Persian tones, the lesson of spiritual stations.}}

The [[cypress]] tree is a symbol both of the beloved and of a regal presence; the [[Common nightingale|nightingale]] and birdsong evoke the traditional setting for human love. The "lessons of spiritual stations" suggest, obviously, a mystical undertone as well (though the word for "spiritual" could also be translated as "intrinsically meaningful"). Therefore, the words could signify at once a prince addressing his devoted followers, a lover courting a beloved, and the reception of spiritual wisdom.<ref name=":1">Meisami, Julie Scott. "Allegorical Gardens in the Persian Poetic Tradition: Nezami, Rumi, Hafez." ''[[International Journal of Middle East Studies]]'' 17(2) (May 1985), 229-260</ref>

== Satire, religion, and politics ==
[[File:Hafis-Goethe-Denkmal in Weimar.jpg|thumb|Hafez-Goethe monument in [[Weimar]], Germany]]
Though Hafez is well known for his poetry, he is less commonly recognized for his intellectual and political contributions.<ref>[http://www.hawzah.net/fa/magazine/magart/3282/4773/39121# Hafez, singing love Mahmood Soree, Golbarg magazine, mehr 1382, number 43]</ref> A defining feature of Hafez' poetry is its [[irony|ironic tone]] and the theme of hypocrisy, widely believed to be a critique of the religious and ruling establishments of the time.<ref name="views">{{cite book |last1=Yavari |first1=Neguin |last2=Potter |first2=Lawrence G. |last3=Oppenheim |first3=Jean-Marc Ran |title=Views from the Edge: Essays in Honor of Richard W. Bulliet |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98s_RXcO2c4C&q=Amir+Mobarez+Din+Mohammad&pg=PA119 |publisher=Columbia University Press |date=November 24, 2004 |isbn=9780231509367 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="aftabir">{{cite web |title=طنز حافظ |url=http://www.aftabir.com/articles/view/art_culture/literature_verse/c5c1230197619_hafez_p1.php/%d8%b7%d9%86%d8%b2-%d8%ad%d8%a7%d9%81%d8%b8 |website=Aftabir.com}}</ref> [[Persian satire]] developed during the 14th century, within the courts of the [[Mongol Empire]]. In this period, Hafez and other notable early satirists, such as [[Ubayd Zakani]], produced a body of work that has since become a template for the use of satire as a political device. Many of his critiques are believed to be targeted at the rule of [[Mubariz al-Din Muhammad]], specifically, towards the disintegration of important public and private institutions.<ref name="views" /><ref name="aftabir" /><ref name="tebyan1">{{cite web|url=http://adab.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=4202&Keyword=%D8%B7%D9%86%D8%B2+%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8|title=مائده جان رسید ( بخش سوم)|access-date=2015-07-14|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304214143/http://adab.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=4202&Keyword=%D8%B7%D9%86%D8%B2+%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B8|url-status=dead}}</ref>

His work, particularly his imaginative references to [[monasteries]], [[convents]], Shahneh, and [[muhtasib]], ignored the religious [[taboo]]s of his period, and he found humor in some of his society's religious doctrines.<ref name="aftabir" /><ref name="tebyan1" /> Employing humor polemically has since become a common practice in Iranian public discourse and satire is now perhaps the [[de facto]] language of Iranian social commentary.<ref name="aftabir" /> Hafez was influenced by ancient Iran and Zoroastrian religion, and the terminology of this religion has been consistently used in his poems. Examples are "Mogh", "Mogh-bache", "Jamshid" etc.

==Modern English editions==
A standard modern English edition of Hafez is ''Faces of Love'' (2012) translated by [[Dick Davis (poet)|Dick Davis]] for [[Penguin Classics]].<ref>[[Washington Post]] [https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-world-faces-of-love-translations-of-persian-poetry-reviewed-by-michael-dirda/2013/09/18/53931700-1a53-11e3-a628-7e6dde8f889d_story.html Book World: ‘Faces of Love,’ translations of Persian poetry reviewed by Michael Dirda]</ref>  ''Beloved: 81 poems from Hafez'' ([[Bloodaxe Books]], 2018) translated by [[Mario Petrucci]], is a recent English selection, noted by [[Fatemeh Keshavarz]] (Roshan Institute for [[Persian studies]], [[University of Maryland]]) for preserving "that audacious and multilayered richness one finds in the originals".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bloodaxebooks.com/ecs/product/beloved-1196|title=Beloved &#124; Bloodaxe Books}}</ref>

[[Peter Avery]] translated a complete edition of Hafez in English, ''The Collected Lyrics of Hafiz of Shiraz'', published in 2007.<ref>{{ISBN|1-901383-26-1}} hb; {{ISBN|1-901383-09-1}} pb</ref> It was awarded Iran's Farabi prize.<ref name="auto">"Obituary: Peter Avery", ''The Daily Telegraph'', (14 October 2008), page 29, (not online 19 October 2008)</ref> Avery's translations are published with notes explaining allusions in the text and filling in what the poets would have expected their readers to know.<ref name="auto" /> An abridged version exists, titled ''Hafiz of Shiraz: Thirty Poems: An Introduction to the Sufi Master''.

Certain English-language poems have been incorrectly attributed to Hafez. The American poet [[Daniel Ladinsky]] has published a number of volumes of poetry that describes its contents as "poems inspired by Hafiz" or "poems of Hafiz" or "renderings of Hafiz."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.danielladinsky.com/work | title=Work }}</ref> Some readers have understood this to mean that they are translations of poems written by Hafiz.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.payvand.com/news/09/apr/1266.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031131524/http://www.payvand.com/news/09/apr/1266.html | archive-date=31 October 2018 | title=Supposed Hafiz poem recited by McGuinty turns out to be fake }}</ref> However, the author has acknowledged that these are original poems inspired by Hafiz and they are not translations of Hafiz poems.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.danielladinsky.com/about | title=About }}</ref>

== Divan-e-Hafez ==
{{Listen
| filename     = Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri’s speech.ogg|
| title        = <span align="center">
Bangladeshi scholar Sultan Ahmad Nanupuri reciting a poem from the Divan of Hafez.</span>
| type         = speech
}}

[[The Divān of Hafez|Divan Hafez]] is a book containing all the remaining poems of Hafez. Most of these poems are in Persian and the most crucial part of this Divan is [[ghazal]]s. There are poems in other poetic formats such as piece, ode, [[Masnavi]] and [[quatrain]] in this Divan.

There is no evidence that most of Hafez's poems were destroyed. In addition, Hafez was very famous during his lifetime. Therefore, the small number of poetic compositions we have available indicates that he was not a prolific poet.

It is likely that Hafez's Divan was compiled for the first time by Mohammad Glendam after his death. Unconfirmed reports indicate that Hafez published his court in [[Hijri year|AH]] 770 (1368). that is, edited more than twenty years before his death.<ref name=":1" />

== Death and the tomb ==
[[File:Tomb of Hafez, Shiraz 03.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Hafez in [[Shiraz]]]]
The year of Hafez's death is AH 791 (1389). Hafez was buried in the prayer hall of Shiraz called the [[Tomb of Hafez|Hafezieh]]. In AH 855 (1451), after the conquest of Shiraz by Abolghasem Babar Teymouri, they built a tomb under the command of his minister, Maulana Mohammad Mamaei.<ref name=":0">Shaida, Khalid Hameed (2014). Hafiz, Drunk with God: Selected Odes. Xlibris Corporation. p. 5. {{ISBN|978-1-4653-7091-4}}. Retrieved 2016-08-23.{{self-published source |date= December 2017}}</ref>

==Poems by Hafez==
The number in the edition by Muhammad Qazvini and Qasem Ghani (1941) is given, as well as that of Parviz Nātel-Khānlari (2nd ed. 1983):
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*''[[Alā yā ayyoha-s-sāqī]]'' – QG 1; PNK 1
*''[[Dūš dīdam ke malā'ek]]'' – QG 184; PNK 179
*''[[Goftā borūn šodī]]'' – QG 406; PNK 398
*''[[Mazra'-ē sabz-e falak]]'' – QG 407; PNK 399
*''[[Naqdhā rā bovad āyā]]'' – QG 185; PNK 180
*''[[Sālhā del talab-ē jām]]'' – QG 142 (Ganjoor 143); PNK 136
*''[[Shirazi Turk]]'' – QG 3; PNK 3
*''[[Sīne mālāmāl]]'' – QG 470; PNK 461
*''[[Zolf-'āšofte]]'' – QG 26; PNK 22
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

==See also==
{{portal|Poetry}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
*[[Diwan (poetry)]]
*[[List of Persian poets and authors]]
*[[Persian metres]]
*[[Persian mysticism]]
**[[Rumi]], Persian poet
*[[Persian literature]]
*''[[The Love Songs of Hafiz]]''
*''[[West-östlicher Diwan]]''
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
{{wikisource|works=or|Hafez}}
<!-- [[File:Hafiz Goethe.JPG|right|thumb|Hāfez-[[Goethe]] memorial in [[Weimar]].]] REAL IMAGE??-->
*{{cite web| last = Bashiri| first = Iraj| year = 1979| title = "Hafiz' Shirazi Turk": A Structuralist's Point of View| url = https://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Hafiz/Hafiz.html| publisher = Bashiri's Working Papers: Central Asia and Iran| access-date = 2013-08-19| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140301031207/http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Hafiz/Hafiz.html| archive-date = 2014-03-01| url-status = live}}
* [[Peter Avery]], ''[http://www.archetype.uk.com/Hafiz%20Lyrics.htm The Collected Lyrics of Hafiz of Shiraz]'', 603 p. (Cambridge: Archetype, 2007). {{ISBN|1-901383-09-1}} <br />Translated from ''Divān-e Hāfez'', Vol. 1, ''The Lyrics (Ghazals)'', edited by [[Parviz Natel-Khanlari]] ([[Tehran]], [[Iran]], 1362 [[Persian calendar|AH]]/1983-4).
* Loloi, Parvin, ''Hafiz, Master of Persian Poetry: A Critical Bibliography - English Translations Since the Eighteenth Century'' (2004. I.B. Tauris)
* Browne, E. G., ''Literary History of Persia''. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing with a new introduction by J.T.P De Bruijn). 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-936347-66-0}}
* [[Will Durant]], ''The Reformation''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1957
* Erkinov, A., “Manuscripts of the works by classical Persian authors (Hāfiz, Jāmī, Bīdil): Quantitative Analysis of 17th-19th c. Central Asian Copies”. ''Iran: Questions et connaissances. Actes du IVe Congrès Européen des études iraniennes organisé par la Societas Iranologica Europaea'', Paris, 6-10 Septembre 1999. vol.&nbsp;II: Périodes médiévale et moderne. [Cahiers de Studia Iranica. 26], M.Szuppe (ed.). Association pour l`avancement des études iraniennes-Peeters Press. Paris-Leiden, 2002, pp.&nbsp;213–228.
* Hafez, ''The Poems of Hafez''. Trans. Reza Ordoubadian. Ibex Publishers, 2006 {{ISBN|978-1-58814-019-7}}
* Hafez, ''The Green Sea of Heaven: Fifty ghazals from the Diwan of Hafiz''. Trans. Elizabeth T. Gray, Jr. White Cloud Press, 1995 {{ISBN|1-883991-06-4}}
* Hafez, ''The Angels Knocking on the Tavern Door: Thirty Poems of Hafez.'' Trans. Robert Bly and Leonard Lewisohn. HarperCollins, 2008, p.&nbsp;69. {{ISBN|978-0-06-113883-6}}
* Hafez, ''Divan-i-Hafiz'', translated by Henry Wilberforce-Clarke, Ibex Publishers, Inc., 2007. {{ISBN|0-936347-80-5}}
*{{cite encyclopedia | last = Khorramshahi | first = Bahaʾ-al-Din | year = 2002 | title = Hafez II: Life and Times  | url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-ii |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica | access-date = 25 July 2010}}
*{{cite web | last = Yarshater | first = Ehsan | year = 2002 | title = Hafez I: An Overview | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-i | publisher = Encyclopædia Iranica | access-date = 25 July 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120517035020/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-i | archive-date = 17 May 2012 | url-status = dead }}
* Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. 1968 {{OCLC|460598}}. {{ISBN|90-277-0143-1}}
* Chopra, R. M., "Great Poets of Classical Persian", June 2014, Sparrow Publication, Kolkata, {{ISBN|978-81-89140-99-1}}.
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = HAFEZ ii. HAFEZ’S LIFE AND TIMES | last = Khorramshahi | first = Bahaʾ-al-Din | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-ii | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XI, Fasc. 5 | pages = 465–469 | year = 2012 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia | article = Karim Khan Zand | last = Perry | first = John R. | url = http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/karim-khan-zand | encyclopedia  = Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. XV, Fasc. 6 | pages = 561–564 | year = 2011 }}
* {{cite book | title = Shiraz in the Age of Hafez: The Glory of a Medieval Persian City | year = 2011 | publisher = University of Washington Press | last = Limbert | first = John W. | pages = 1–192 | isbn = 9780295802886 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=mPcnCnCNNF8C&q=false }}
* {{cite book | title = Hafiz, Master of Persian Poetry: A Critical Bibliography | year = 2004 | publisher = I.B.Tauris | last = Loloi | first = Parvin | pages = 1–392 | isbn = 9781860649233 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=a6T-6HUl9vcC&q=false }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Hafez}}
{{Wikiquote}}
'''English translations of Poetry by Hafez'''
* [http://allspirit.co.uk/poetry/poets/hafez/ Hafiz Selections of his poetry on Allspirit]
* [http://poemsintranslation.blogspot.com/search/label/Hafiz Hafez in English from ''Poems Found in Translation'' website]
* [http://www.blackcatpoems.com/h/hafez.html Poems by Hafez from Blackcat Poems website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140517122140/http://hafizonlove.com/ Life and Poetry of Hafez from "Hafiz on Love" website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170824063055/http://www.poetseers.org/the-poetseers/hafiz/hafiz-poems-gertrude-bell/index.html Hafez Poems translated G. Bell]

'''Persian texts and resources'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140423161321/http://mastaneh.ir/fehrest-ghazal ''Hafez Divan'' with readings in Persian]
* [https://archive.org/details/dwnhfiz00fiac/page/4/mode/2up Scan of 1560 ''Dīwān Hāfiz'' manuscript on archive.org]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140316161336/http://www.mshams.ir/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/divan.html Fall-e Hafez] An online Flash application of his poems in Persian.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190608191207/http://www.falehafez.org/ Text-Based Fal e Hafez] A light-weight website ranked 1 on search engines for Fal e Hafez.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150611100051/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/falehafez.me/id671500861 Fale Hafez iPhone App] an iPhone application for reading poems and taking 'faal'.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160904030605/http://www.radiohafez.com/ ''Radio Programs on Hafez's life and poetry']

'''English language resources'''
* {{Gutenberg author|id=39907}}
* "[http://www.archetype.uk.com/Hafiz%20Lyrics.htm The Collected Lyrics of Hafiz of Shiraz]", a translation of the Divan-i Hafiz by [[Peter Avery]], published by [http://www.archetype.uk.com/ Archetype] 2007 {{ISBN|1-901383-26-1}} hb; {{ISBN|1-901383-09-1}} pb
* [https://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Hafiz/Hafiz.html "Hafez' Shirazi Turk": A Structuralist's Point of View] by [[Iraj Bashiri]], [[University of Minnesota]].
* [https://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Poets/Hafiz.html ''Hafiz, Shams al-Din Muhammad''], A Biography by Iraj Bashiri
* [https://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Hafiz/Gufta.html ''Hafiz and the Sufic Ghazal''], 1979, by Iraj Bashiri
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20050201034830/http://www.iranica.com/articles/v11f5/v11f5004.html Comprehensive set of scholarly entries about Hafez]}}, on the ''[[Encyclopædia Iranica]]'' ([[Columbia University]]).
* [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez HAFEZ – Encyclopaedia Iranica]
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muhammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī}}
* {{Librivox author |id=9891}}

'''Other'''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120719231002/http://www.photoparsi.com/5/491-hafez-tomb-in-2012-nowruz Hafez Tomb in 2012 Nowruz Celebration] Photos.
* {{YouTube|YFFMzoOUpsM|One Day with Hafez at Leiden University, The Netherlands}}

{{Persian literature}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:14th-century Persian-language poets]]
[[Category:Sufi poets]]
[[Category:People from Shiraz]]
[[Category:1320s births]]
[[Category:1390 deaths]]
[[Category:Angelic visionaries]]
[[Category:Injuid-period poets]]
[[Category:14th-century Iranian writers]]
[[Category:Satirical poets]]