Hafez was born in Shiraz, Iran. His parents were from Kazerun, Fars Province. Despite his profound effect on Persian life and culture and his enduring popularity and influence, few details of his life are known. Accounts of his early life rely upon traditional anecdotes. Early Tazkiras (biographical sketches) mentioning Hafez are generally considered unreliable. At an early age he memorised Al Qur'an and was given the title of Hafez, which he later utilised as his pen name. The preface of his Diwan, in which his early life is discussed, was written by an unknown contemporary whose name may have been Mohammad Golandam. Two of the most highly regarded modern editions of Hafez's Diwan are compiled by Mohammad Qazvini and Qasem Gani (495 ghazals) and by Parviz Natil Khanlari (486 ghazals).
Modern scholars generally agree that Hafez was born either in 1315 or 1317; following an account by Jami 1390 is considered the year in which he died. Hafez was supported by patronage from several successive local regimes: Shah Abu Ishaq, who came to power while Hafez was in his teens; Tamerlane (Timur) at the end of his life; and even the strict ruler Shah Mubariz ud-Din Muhammad (Mubariz Muzaffar). Though his work flourished most under the twenty-seven-year reign of Jalal ud-Din Shah Shuja (Shah Shuja), it is claimed Hafez briefly fell out of favour with Shah Shuja for mocking inferior poets. Shah Shuja wrote poetry himself and may have taken the comments personally; forcing Hafez to flee from Shiraz to Isfahan and Yazd, although no historical evidence of this is available. His mausoleum, Hafezieh, is located in the Musalla Gardens of Shiraz.
According to one tradition, before meeting his patron 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 not be requited, he allegedly held his first mystic vigil in his desire to realize this union. During this, 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. A Western parallel is that of Dante and Beatrice.
At age 60, he is said to have begun a Chilla-nashini, a 40-day-and-night vigil by sitting in a circle which 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 wine. It was there where he is said to have attained "Cosmic Consciousness". Hafez 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".
One of the figurative gestures for which he is most famous and which is among the most difficult to translate is Iham or artful punning. 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 which was outside the shell of superficial existence". Hafez often took advantage of the lack of distinction between lyrical, mystical, and panegyric writing by using highly intellectualized, elaborate metaphors and images to suggest multiple possible meanings. For example, a couplet from one of Hafez's poems reads: "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 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.
During his long career as a poet, Hafez sought the patronage of a number of local rulers. He wrote some of his earliest poems for Abu-Es'Hagh Inju, the ruler of Shiraz and an enlightened man who revered Hafez. Unfortunately, in 1356, Shiraz was captured by Amir Mubarez, a ruthless and religious fanatic. Amir Mubarez closed taverns and deprecated artists. While poets like Hafez were in disfavour, religious zealots gained power and oppressed the people in the name of religion. Many of Hafez's odes criticize the hypocrisy of religious zealots and the tyranny of magistrates and rulers. The famous ode exemplifies his attitude toward zealots in lines such as the following: "Pious clergy! Don't mind libertines like me, / For you won't account for other people's sin. / Mind your business, why in others' you're keen? / What we saw today, its fruit tomorrow see". In another ode, he says: "They closed the tavern door; O' Lord, do not permit. / That they open the door of shame and deceit".
The tyranny of Amir Mubarez alienated the people and led to a rebellion. Amir Mubarez was blinded and deposed and his son, Shah Shuja' (ruled 1358-85) became the ruler of Shiraz. The new ruler restored the favoured position of Hafez at the court. The poet's happy days, however, did not last long. By 1369 for unknown reasons, Hafez had once again fallen into disfavour.
It was probably during this period that Hafez looked elsewhere for support. He made a journey to Isfahan and Yazd, perhaps in search of a generous patron. Meanwhile, the far-reaching fame of his poetry brought Hafez an invitation from Ahmad Jalayer, the ruler of western Iran, to visit his capital, Baghdad. The reasons why the poet did not go are unknown. Later on, he was invited by Mahmud Shah of Deccan to visit India. It is said that Hafez journeyed over land to the Strait of Hormuz and boarded a ship bound to India. The sea was stormy and Hafez, it is said, left the ship and travelled back to Shiraz because he preferred terra firma to the vagaries of the sea.
A few years later, Shiraz was invaded by the Scourge of God, Tamerlane (1336-1405). Legend has it that there occurred a meeting between this man of the sword and the man of the pen, Hafez. Although Hafez hardly ever traveled outside Shiraz, in one tale Timur angrily summoned Hafez to account for one of his verses: "If that Shirazi Turk would take my heart in hand/ I would remit Samarkand and Bukhara for her black mole". Samarkand was Timur's capital and Bokhara was his kingdom's finest city. Timur complained, "With the blows of my lustrous sword, 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!" Timur, himself a native of Samarkand, demanded how Hafez could have the temerity to give such two great cities just for the mole of a Shirazi woman. Hafez, so the tale goes, bowed deeply and replied, "Your Majesty, 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.
A beautiful mystic piece of Hafez reads: "Every child has known God,/ Not the God of names,/ Not the God of don'ts,/ Not the God who ever does Anything weird,/ But the God who knows only 4 words./ And keeps repeating them, saying:/ "Come Dance with Me, come dance." A systemic representation of key concepts in the mystical poetry of Hafiz-Shams-ud-din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi is a well known mystic-poet philosopher of the 14th century Iran (approximately 1320-1391). He is known as Khajeh Hafez (The Master Memorizer of Al Qur'an), Losan-ul-ghyb (The Tongue of The Hidden), Tarjomanul-Asrar (The Interpreter of Secrets). Hafiz died in around 1391. He is buried in a garden which in his honour is called Hafezieh. His mausoleum is one of the major attractions of Shiraz and is often visited by many of his faithful admirers.
The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre. Email : [email protected]
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
