Difference between revisions of "Hafez" - New World Encyclopedia

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Hafez, detail of an illumination in a Persian manuscript of the Divan of Hafez, 18th century.

Khwajeh Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi (also spelled Hafiz) (خواجه شمس‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی in Persian) was a Persian mystic and poet. He was born sometime between the years 1310-1337 in Shiraz , Persia (Iran), son of a certain Baha-ud-Din. His lyrical poems, ghazals are noted for their beauty and bring to fruition the love, mysticism, and early Sufi themes that had long pervaded Persian poetry.

Life

Very little credible information is known about Hafez's life, particularly its early part; there is a great deal of more or less mythical anecdote. Judging from his poetry, he must have had a good education, or else found the means to educate himself. Scholars generally agree on the following:

His father Baha-ud-Din is said to have been a coal merchant who died when Hafez was a child, leaving him and his mother in debt. It seems probable that he met with Attar of Shiraz, a scholar, and became his disciple. He is said to have later become a poet in the court of Abu Ishak, and so gained fame and influence in his hometown. It is possible that Hafez gained a position as a teacher in a Qur'anic school at this time.

In his early thirties Mubariz Muzaffar captured Shiraz and seems to have ousted Hafez from his position. Hafez apparently regained his position for a brief span of time after the Shah Shuja attempted to regain the throne. But shortly afterwards Hafez was forced into self-imposed exile when rivals and religious characters he had criticized began slandering him. Another possible cause of his disgrace may have been a love affair he had with a beautiful Turkish woman, Shakh-e Nabat, about whom Hafez wrote a number of romantic poems. Hafez fled from Shiraz to Isfahan and Yazd for his own safety.

At the age of fifty-two, Hafez once again regained his position at court, and possibly received a personal invitation from Shah Shuja, who pleaded with him to return. He obtained a more solid position after Shah Shuja's death, when Tamerlane ascended to the throne.

It is generally believed that Hafez died at the age of 69. His tomb is located in the Musalla Gardens of Shiraz, Iran, and remains a popular tourist destination, with millions of Persians and other visitors making the pilgrimage to Hafez's tomb each year.

Hafez, unlike most artists, obtained immense fame and fortune during his lifetime, and, never one to be particularly humble, he wrote his own epitaph:

I have never seen any poetry sweeter than thine, O Hafez,

I swear it by that Koran which thou keepest in thy bosom.

(Translation by Edward Granville Browne.)

Works and influence

There is no definitive version of his collected works (or diwan); editions vary from 573 to 994 poems. Only since the 1940s has a sustained scholarly attempt been made - by Mas'ud Farzad, Qasim Ghani and others in Iran - to authenticate Hafez's work, and remove errors introduced by later copyists and censors. However, the reliability of such work has been questioned, and in the words of Hafez scholar Iraj Bashiri.... "there remains little hope [in Iran] for an authenticated diwan".

Although often denounced by more orthodox and fundamentalists Muslims for being a hedonist who celebrated the pleasures of earthly world as much as the spiritual world, Hafez greatly influenced subsequent Persian poets, and, in translation, left his mark on a number of important Western writers of the 19th-century, such as Goethe. His work was first translated into English in 1771 by William Jones. Few English translations of Hafez have been truly successful. His poetry is notoriously ambiguous, and interpreting him requires care and scholarship, the search for his words' literal and symbolic meanings, all of which is difficult to do for Western scholars studying a now ancient form of the Persian language. Additionally, Hafez often refers to contemporary events and figures without providing any background; his poetry assumes implicitly that the reader has a thorough understanding of Persian literature and history, and much Hafez scholarship continues to focus on explicating all the allusions in his works.

In a study inspired by Edward Said's work on Orientalism, the critic Julie Meisami has commented on the history of Hafez translations. She remarks on how the investment of the western scholars, in seeing the east in particular ways, necessitated by their historical moment noted by Said, is exemplified in the changes made in the image of Hafez through European translations that have answered both to cultural needs and profit considerations.

Sample Translations

The meaning behind the poetry of Hafiz must, as with all art, be decided by the patron and observer of the work. Though credited as being "The Interpreter of Mysteries," there remain many mysteries regarding Hafiz that have yet to be solved. As the poet himself had said:

Am I a sinner or a saint,

Which one shall it be?

Hafiz holds the secret of his own mystery...

One of Hafez's greatest fondnesses was for wine, so when the Muzaffarids captured Shiraz in 1353 and declared prohibition it is no surprise that Hafez wrote a mournful elegy for the loss:

Though wine gives delight, and the wind distills the perfume of the rose,

Drink not the wine to the strains of the harp, for the constable is alert.

Hide the goblet in the sleeve of the patchwork cloak,

For the time, like the eye of the decanter, pours forth blood.

Wash the wine stain from your devish cloak with tears,

For it is the season of piety, and the time for abstinence.

(Translation by Edward Browne.)

Of course, Hafez's fondness for wine was overshadowed by that of love:

I said I long for thee

You said your sorrows will end.

Be my moon, rise up for me

Only if it will ascend.
I said, from lovers learn

How with compassion burn

Beauties, you said in return

Such common tricks transcend.
Your visions, I will oppose

My mind's paths, I will close

You said, this night-farer knows

Another way will descend.
With the fragrance of your hair

I'm lost in my world's affair

You said, if you care, you dare

On its guidance can depend.
I said hail to that fresh air

That the morning breeze may share

Cool is that breeze, you declare

With beloved's air may blend.
I said, your sweet and red wine

Granted no wishes of mine

You said, in service define

Your life, and your time spend.
I said, when will your kind heart

Thoughts of friendship start?

Said, speak not of this art

Until it's time for that trend.

I said, happiness and joy

Passing time will destroy.

Said, Hafiz, silence employ

Sorrows too will end my friend.

(Translation by Shahriar Shahriari.)

I have learned so much from God

That I can no longer call myself

a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew.

The Truth has shared so much of Itself with me

That I can no longer call myself

a man, a woman, an angel, or even a pure soul.

Love has befriended Hafiz so completely.

It has turned to ash and freed me

Of every concept and image my mind has ever known.

The work of Hafez is inspired by the Sufi teachings of his time, in which passionate love and the drinking of (forbidden) wine are metaphors for ecstatic religious states that cannot be otherwise described.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
Will Durant, The Reformation. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1957
Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K

External links

Like A Life Giving Sun - short poem by Hafez
Hafiz, Shams al-Din Muhammad A Biography by Prof. Iraj Bashiri, University of Minnesota
Hafiz Poems - Translated G.Bell
Hafez Poems - Translated by Shahriar Shahriari
Hafez Project - Search the content of Hafez poems.
Love and reason with Hafez
Hafiz's Tomb in Shiraz
Comprehensive set of scholarly entries about Hafez, on the Encyclopædia Iranica (Columbia University).
500 original Hafez Shirazi Ghazaliyat in Persian
Hafiz of Shiraz: New Nightingale, New Rose
The Songs of Hafiz

Credits

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@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Life==
-[[Image:Divan hafez aks2.JPG|thumb|right|200px|[[Divan]] of [[Hafez]], 1969 <br>]]
 Very little credible information is known about Hafez's life, particularly its early part; there is a great deal of more or less mythical anecdote. Judging from his poetry, he must have had a good education, or else found the means to educate himself. Scholars generally agree on the following:
-His father Baha-ud-Din is said to have been a [[coal]] [[merchant]] who died when Hafez was a child, leaving him and his mother in debt.  It seems probable that he met with [[Attar of Shiraz]], a somewhat disreputable scholar, and became his [[disciple]].  He is said to have later become a poet in the court of [[Abu Ishak]], and so gained fame and influence in his hometown. It is possible that Hafez gained a position as teacher in a Qur'anic school at this time.
+His father Baha-ud-Din is said to have been a coal merchant who died when Hafez was a child, leaving him and his mother in debt. It seems probable that he met with Attar of Shiraz, a scholar, and became his disciple. He is said to have later become a poet in the court of Abu Ishak, and so gained fame and influence in his hometown. It is possible that Hafez gained a position as a teacher in a Qur'anic school at this time.
-In his early thirties [[Muzaffarid|Mubariz Muzaffar]] captured Shiraz and seems to have ousted Hafez from his position. Hafez apparently regained his position for a brief span of time after [[Shah Shuja al-Din Muzaffar|Shah Shuja]] took his father, Mubariz Muzaffar, prisoner. But shortly afterwards Hafez was forced into self-imposed exile when rivals and religious characters he had criticized began slandering him. Another possible cause of his disgrace can be seen in a love affair he had with a beautiful Turkish woman, [[Shakh-e Nabat]]. Hafez fled from Shiraz to [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]] and [[Yazd]] for his own safety.
+In his early thirties Mubariz Muzaffar captured Shiraz and seems to have ousted Hafez from his position. Hafez apparently regained his position for a brief span of time after the Shah Shuja attempted to regain the throne. But shortly afterwards Hafez was forced into self-imposed exile when rivals and religious characters he had criticized began slandering him. Another possible cause of his disgrace may have been a love affair he had with a beautiful Turkish woman, Shakh-e Nabat, about whom Hafez wrote a number of romantic poems. Hafez fled from Shiraz to [[Isfahan]] and Yazd for his own safety.
-At the age of fifty-two, Hafez once again regained his position at court, and possibly received a personal invitation from Shah Shuja, who pleaded with him to return. He obtained a more solid position after Shah Shuja's death, when [[Shah Shuja al-Din Muzaffar|Shah Shuja]] ascended the throne for a brief period, before being defeated and killed by [[Tamerlane]].
+At the age of fifty-two, Hafez once again regained his position at court, and possibly received a personal invitation from Shah Shuja, who pleaded with him to return. He obtained a more solid position after Shah Shuja's death, when [[Tamerlane]] ascended to the throne.
-When an old man, he apparently met Tamerlane to defend his poetry against charges of blasphemy.
+It is generally believed that Hafez died at the age of 69. His tomb is located in the Musalla Gardens of Shiraz, Iran, and remains a popular tourist destination, with millions of Persians and other visitors making the pilgrimage to Hafez's tomb each year.
-It is generally believed that Hafez died at the age of 69. His tomb is located in the Musalla Gardens of [[Shiraz, Iran|Shiraz]] (referred to as Hafezieh).
+Hafez, unlike most artists, obtained immense fame and fortune during his lifetime, and, never one to be particularly humble, he wrote his own epitaph:
-Hafez took ear to his immense popularity during his lifetime, and agreed with many others (then and now) when he wrote:
 :<i>I have never seen any poetry sweeter than thine, O Hafez,
 :I swear it by that Koran which thou keepest in thy bosom.</i>
-Translation by Edward Granville Browne
+(Translation by Edward Granville Browne.)
 ==Works and influence==
-[[Image:Aramgah-e-hafez nuit shiraz.jpg|thumb|right|Hafez's mausoleum at night.]]
+There is no definitive version of his collected works (or ''diwan''); editions vary from 573 to 994 poems. Only since the 1940s has a sustained scholarly attempt been made - by Mas'ud Farzad, Qasim Ghani and others in [[Iran]] - to authenticate Hafez's work, and remove errors introduced by later copyists and censors. However, the reliability of such work has been questioned, and in the words of Hafez scholar Iraj Bashiri.... "there remains little hope [in Iran] for an authenticated ''diwan''".
-There is no definitive version of his collected works (or ''[[diwan (poetry)|diwan]]''); editions vary from 573 to 994 poems. In Iran, his collected works have come to be used as an aid to popular [[divination]].
-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 remove errors introduced by later copyists and censors. However, the reliability of such work has been questioned (Michael Hillmann in 'Rahnema-ye Ketab' No. 13 ([[1971]]), "Kusheshha-ye Jadid dar Shenakht-e Divan-e Sahih-e Hafez"), and in the words of Hafez scholar [[Iraj Bashiri]].... ''"there remains little hope from there (i.e.: Iran) for an authenticated diwan"''.
+Although often denounced by more orthodox and fundamentalists [[Islam|Muslims]] for being a hedonist who celebrated the pleasures of earthly world as much as the spiritual world, Hafez greatly influenced subsequent Persian poets, and, in translation, left his mark on a number of important Western writers of the 19th-century, such as [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]].  His work was first translated into English in 1771 by William Jones. Few English translations of Hafez have been truly successful. His poetry is notoriously ambiguous, and interpreting him requires care and scholarship, the search for his words' literal and symbolic meanings, all of which is difficult to do for Western scholars studying a now ancient form of the Persian language. Additionally, Hafez often refers to contemporary events and figures without providing any background; his poetry assumes implicitly that the reader has a thorough understanding of Persian literature and history, and much Hafez scholarship continues to focus on explicating all the allusions in his works.
-Not much acclaimed in his own day and often exposed to the reproaches of orthodoxy, he greatly influenced subsequent Persian poets, and left his mark on such important Western writers as [[Goethe]].  His work was first translated into English in [[1771]] by [[William Jones]]. Few English translations of Hafiz have been truly successful.  The figurative gesture for which he is most famous is ambiguity, and interpreting him requires care and scholarship, the search for his words' literal and symbolic meanings.  Indeed, Hafez often uses images, metaphors and allusions that assume fields of knowledge shared between poet and reader.
+In a study inspired by [[Edward Said]]'s work on Orientalism, the critic Julie Meisami has commented on the history of Hafez translations. She remarks on how the investment of the western scholars, in seeing the east in particular ways, necessitated by their historical moment noted by Said, is exemplified in the changes made in the image of Hafez through European translations that have answered both to cultural needs and profit considerations.
-The history of the translation of Hafez has been a complicated one.
-Most recently, 'The Gift: Poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master''a collection of poems by [[Daniel Ladinsky]] and published in 1999, has been both commercially successful and a source of controversy. Although Ladinsky does read Persian, critics such as Murat Nemet-Nejat [http://home.jps.net/~nada/hafiz.htm], a poet, essayist and translator of modern Turkish poetry, have asserted that his translations are largely inventions Landinsky's own inventions.
-In a study inspired by Edward Said's work on 'orientalism' the critic Julie Meisami has commented on the history of Hafez translations.  She remarks on how the investment of the western scholars, in seeing the east in particular ways, necessitated by their historical moment noted by Said, is exemplified in the changes made in the image of Hafez through European translations that have answered both to cultural needs and profit considerations.
-Landinsky's is a perfect case in point. Meisami's article was written before its publication.  His work very accurately represents the new-age genre of literature that delights in exotic tender sages fantastically involved in self-adoration. However, Landinsky's poems are made of objects, situations, terms, terms of thought, and descriptions utterly alien to Hafez and the entire corpus of classical Persian literature.
-The question arises as to what are the combinations of market calculations and insufficient education that lead to the publication of a book mispresenting a world poet of the stature of Hafez, in the same environment where the same mistake would be unimaginable with respect to Goethe or Shakespeare.
-Though Hafez’s poetry is influenced by his [[Islam|Islamic]] faith, he is widely respected by Hindus, Christians and others.
-==Hafez in contemporary Persian (Iranian) culture ==
-[[Image:Markaz hafez shenasi.jpg|thumb|right|240px|The Center for Hafez Studies, in Shiraz, Iran.]]
-The poems of Hafez are among the most popular Persian poems.  They are frequently used in traditional Iranian music like works of [[Mohammad Reza Shajarian]]. Young adults have now tuned into Hafez's work, especially after a rock band called [[O-hum]] devoted itself to only using Hafez's lyrics. His poetry is also one of the sources of inspiration of Iran's leading painter [[Mahmoud Farshchian]].
 ==Sample Translations==
 The meaning behind the poetry of Hafiz must, as with all art, be decided by the patron and observer of the work. Though credited as being "The Interpreter of Mysteries," there remain many mysteries regarding Hafiz that have yet to be solved. As the poet himself had said:
 :<i>Am I a sinner or a saint,
-:<i>Which one shall it be?
+:Which one shall it be?
-:<i>Hafiz holds the secret of his own mystery...
+:Hafiz holds the secret of his own mystery...</i>
-One of Hafez's greatest fondnesses was for wine, so when the [[Muzaffarids]] captured Shiraz in [[1353]] and declared prohibition it is no surprise that Hafez wrote a mournful elegy for the loss:
+One of Hafez's greatest fondnesses was for wine, so when the Muzaffarids captured Shiraz in 1353 and declared prohibition it is no surprise that Hafez wrote a mournful elegy for the loss:
 :<i>Though wine gives delight, and the wind distills the perfume of the rose,
-:<i>Drink not the wine to the strains of the harp, for the constable is alert.
+:Drink not the wine to the strains of the harp, for the constable is alert.
-:<i>Hide the goblet in the sleeve of the patchwork cloak,
+:Hide the goblet in the sleeve of the patchwork cloak,
-:<i>For the time, like the eye of the decanter, pours forth blood.
+:For the time, like the eye of the decanter, pours forth blood.
-:<i>Wash the wine stain from your devish cloak with tears,
+:Wash the wine stain from your devish cloak with tears,
-:<i>For it is the season of piety, and the time for abstinence.
+:For it is the season of piety, and the time for abstinence.</i>
-Translation by [[Edward Browne]]
+(Translation by Edward Browne.)
-Four years afterward, finding prohibition unfeasable for the wine-loving people of Shiraz, the ruler [[Shah Shuja al-Din Muzaffar|Shah Shuja]] repealed that act and for that reason Hafez immortalized his name in verse.
 Of course, Hafez's fondness for wine was overshadowed by that of love:
 :<i>I said I long for thee
-:<i>You said your sorrows will end.
+:You said your sorrows will end.
-:<i>Be my moon, rise up for me
+:Be my moon, rise up for me
-:<i>Only if it will ascend.
+:Only if it will ascend.
-:<i>I said, from lovers learn
-:<i>How with compassion burn
-:<i>Beauties, you said in return
-:<i>Such common tricks transcend.
-:<i>Your visions, I will oppose
-:<i>My mind's paths, I will close
-:<i>You said, this night-farer knows
-:<i>Another way will descend.
-:<i>With the fragrance of your hair
-:<i>I'm lost in my world's affair
-:<i>You said, if you care, you dare
-:<i>On its guidance can depend.
-:<i>I said hail to that fresh air
-:<i>That the morning breeze may share
-:<i>Cool is that breeze, you declare
-:<i>With beloved's air may blend.
-:<i>I said, your sweet and red wine
-:<i>Granted no wishes of mine
-:<i>You said, in service define
-:<i>Your life, and your time spend.
-:<i>I said, when will your kind heart
-:<i>Thoughts of friendship start?
-:<i>Said, speak not of this art
-:<i>Until it's time for that trend.
-:<i>I said, happiness and joy
-:<i>Passing time will destroy.
-:<i>Said, Hafiz, silence employ
-:<i>Sorrows too will end my friend.
-Translation by Shahriar Shahriari.
-[[Image:Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved - Book cover to the Hafez translations of Thomas Rain Crowe.jpg|thumb|''Drunk on the Wine of the Beloved''<br>Hafez translations by Thomas Rain Crowe<br>Miniature of a wine boy]]
-:<i>I have learned so much from God
+:I said, from lovers learn
-:<i>That I can no longer call myself<br>
+:How with compassion burn
-:<i>a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew.
+:Beauties, you said in return
-:<i>The Truth has shared so much of Itself with me
+:Such common tricks transcend.
-:<i>That I can no longer call myself
-:<i>a man, a woman, an angel, or even a pure soul.
-:<i>Love has befriended Hafiz so completely.
-:<i>It has turned to ash and freed me
-:<i>Of every concept and image my mind has ever known.
-The work of Hafez is inspired by the Sufi teachings of his time, in which the love of youths and the drinking of (forbidden) wine are metaphors for ecstatic religious states that cannot be otherwise described.
+:Your visions, I will oppose
+:My mind's paths, I will close
+:You said, this night-farer knows
+:Another way will descend.
-:<i>What choices have I, if I should not fall in love with that child?
+:With the fragrance of your hair
-:<i>Mother Time does not possess a better son. (Divan, no 396)
+:I'm lost in my world's affair
+:You said, if you care, you dare
+:On its guidance can depend.
-:<i>My sweetheart is a beauty and a child, and I fear that in play one day
+:I said hail to that fresh air
-:<i>He will kill me miserably and he will not be accountable according to the holy law.
+:That the morning breeze may share
+:Cool is that breeze, you declare
+:With beloved's air may blend.
-:<i>I have a fourteen year old idol, sweet and nimble
+:I said, your sweet and red wine
-:<i>For whom the full moon is a willing slave.
+:Granted no wishes of mine
+:You said, in service define
+:Your life, and your time spend.
-:<i>His sweet lips have (still) the scent of milk
+:I said, when will your kind heart
-:<i>Even though the demeanor of his dark eyes drips blood. (Hafez, Divan, no 284)
+:Thoughts of friendship start?
+:Said, speak not of this art
+:Until it's time for that trend.
-:And about the Magian baccha:
+:I said, happiness and joy
+:Passing time will destroy.
+:Said, Hafiz, silence employ
+:Sorrows too will end my friend.</i>
-:<i>If the wine-serving magian boy would shine in this way
+(Translation by Shahriar Shahriari.)
-:<i>I will make a broom of my eyelashes to sweep the entrance of the tavern. (Divan, no 9)
-<!--No-source image [[Image:Hafez.jpg|thumb|right|160px|Modern rendering of Hafez from an Iranian book cover]]—>
-:<i>Without the beloved’s face, the rose is not pleasant.
-:<i>Without wine, spring is not pleasant.
-:<i>The border of the sward and the air of the garden
+:I have learned so much from God
-:<i>Without the tulip cheek is not pleasant.
+:That I can no longer call myself
+:a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Jew.
+:The Truth has shared so much of Itself with me
+:That I can no longer call myself
+:a man, a woman, an angel, or even a pure soul.
+:Love has befriended Hafiz so completely.
+:It has turned to ash and freed me
+:Of every concept and image my mind has ever known.</i>
-:<i>The dancing of the  cypress, and the rapture of the rose,
+The work of Hafez is inspired by the Sufi teachings of his time, in which passionate love and the drinking of (forbidden) wine are metaphors for ecstatic religious states that cannot be otherwise described.
-:<i>Without the one thousand songs is not pleasant.
-:<i>With the beloved, sugar of lip, rose of body,
-:<i>Without kiss and embrace is not pleasant.
-:<i>Every picture that reasons's hand depicteth,
-:<i>Save the picture of the idol is not pleasant.
-:<i>Hafez! the soul is a despicable coin:
-:<i>For scattering, it is not pleasant.
-Translation by [[Henry Wilberforce-Clarke]]
-==The Tomb of Hafez==
-When Hafez died, controversy raged as to whether or not Hafez should be given a religious burial in light of his clearly hedonisic lifestyle and, at most times, unorthodox ways.  His friends, however, convinced the authorities using Hafez's own poetry to allow it.  Twenty years after his death, an elaborate tomb (the ''Hafezieh'') was erected to honor Hafez in the Musalla Gardens in Shiraz.  Inside, Hafez's alabaster tombstone bore one of his poems inscribed upon it - "profoundly religious at last" (Durant):
-:<i>Where are the tidings of union? that I may arise-
-:<i>Forth from the dust I will rise up to welcome thee!
-:<i>My soul, like a homing bird, yearning for paradise,
-:<i>Shall arise and soar, from the snares of the world set free.
-:<i>When the voice of thy love shall call me to by thy slave,
-:<i>I shall rise to a greater far than the mastery
-:<i>Of life and the living, time and the mortal span.
-:<i>Pour down, O Lord! from the clouds of thy guiding grace,
-:<i>The rain of a mercy that quickeneth on my grave,
-:<i>Before, like dust that the wind bears from place to place,
-:<i>I arise and flee beyond the knowledge of man.
-:<i>When to my grave thou turnest thy blessed feet,
-:<i>Wine and the lute thou shalt bring in thine hand to me;
-:<i>Thy voice shall ring through the fold of my winding-sheet,
-:<i>And I will arise and dance to thy minstrelsy.
-:<i>Though I be old, clasp me one night to thy breast,
-:<i>And I, when the dawn shall come to awaken me,
-:<i>With the flush of youth on my cheek from thy bosom will rise.
-:<i>Rise up! let mine eyes delight in thy stately grace!
-:<i>Thou art the goal to which all men's endeavor has pressed,
-:<i>And thou the idol of Hafez's worship; thy face
-:<i>From the world and life shall bid him come forth and arise!
-Translation by [[Gertrude Bell]]
-Nowadays, the Hafezieh is visited by millions each year and regarded by countless people to be a veritable shrine.
 ==References==
 * E.G. Browne. ''Literary History of Persia''. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-7007-0406-X
-* [[Will Durant]], ''The Reformation''. New York: Simon and Schuster, [[1957]]
+* Will Durant, ''The Reformation''. New York: Simon and Schuster, [[1957]]
 * Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K
-==See also==
-*[[List of Persian poets and authors]]
-*[[Persian literature]]
-*[[Persian mysticism]]
 == External links ==