Rediscovering the Oriental poets - Hafez of Shiraz
“I can no longer call myself Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist or Jew...
Love has so completely befriended me,
It has turned me into ashes and freed me
From every concept and image my mind has ever known."
A Master of Lyric Poetry
Hafez, whose real name is Shams al-Din Muhammad, was born into a modest family in Shiraz, a city renowned for its cultural and intellectual ferment. We mention this because his upbringing was influenced by this environment, particularly through his study of the Koran, which gave rise to his nickname ‘Hafez’, meaning ‘he who has memorized the Koran’. Indeed, theology, literature and the Koranic sciences formed an important part of his education, profoundly influencing his poetry.
Hafez was soon recognised for his exceptional talent with words, combining spirituality and love in his verse. Sufi mysticism, very present in his writings, enabled him to transgress the boundaries between the sacred and the profane. From his earliest works, he combined the search for divine love with metaphors for earthly love, transcending the traditional boundaries of religious poetry. It is essential to understand that the influence of Sufism, a mystical current in Islam, is fundamental to Hafez's work. He uses metaphors and symbols to evoke the spiritual quest, while remaining accessible to the reader through his references to everyday life, nature and human emotions. For example, wine and drunkenness, recurring themes in his poems, represent the dissolution of the ego and mystical union with the divine, a controversial but powerful image in the Islamic context. Below are two verses by Hafez that provide an insight into the very essence of his nature, which is worth far more than a biography :
“The day I came into the world, a desire for love was awakened,
From that love I took a taste that will never fade.”
The Divân, a life's work
One of his most famous contributions is his collection of poems entitled “Divân de Hafez”. This collection has become an essential reference in Iran, so much so that it is commonly consulted on important occasions such as the Persian New Year.
The Divân of Hafez contains around 500 ghazals, although the exact number may vary according to editions and compilations. The ghazals focus on two main themes: love (earthly and divine) and Sufism (the mystical quest for union with God). Hafez wields the art of the ghazal with a unique subtlety, managing to fuse spiritual and material, secular and mystical elements, while respecting the rigid structure of this poetic form. What's more, the Divân's poems are often built around metaphors and symbols: wine, the tavern, drunkenness, the garden, the nightingale and the rose recur frequently in his verses. These elements, although apparently linked to earthly pleasures, actually symbolize deeper concepts, notably the spiritual quest and divine love. For example, wine often represents spiritual knowledge, while drunkenness is synonymous with mystical ecstasy and forgetting oneself in God.
« Si le vent passe au jardin, cueille une rose,
Elle est le miroir des visages joyeux. »
What is particularly interesting about his verses is that, because of their allegorical and enigmatic nature, the Divân has been the subject of many interpretations over the centuries. Some see it as an expression of the spiritual quest, while others see it as a more literal love poem. The beauty of the Divân lies precisely in this ambiguity, which leaves room for a multitude of personal interpretations. Finally, Hafez's Divân is not just a literary collection, it is a sacred text for many Iranians. It is used in an almost divinatory manner: what is known as fāl-e Hafez is often practiced, a method of consultation in which the Divân is opened at random to obtain advice or answers to personal questions.
Legacy
Hafez died in Shiraz in 1390, leaving behind a monumental literary legacy. After his death, his reputation continued to grow. His mausoleum in Shiraz is a place of pilgrimage for poetry lovers and admirers of his work. Centuries after his death, his verses continue to resonate in Iran and around the world.
“The poems I write will endure, their flame will live on in the hearts of men, long after I am gone.”
As he knew, Hafez left an indelible mark on Persian poetry. He is often compared to poets such as Saadi and Rumi, but Hafez managed to find a distinct style, marked by his mastery of forms and images, which immortalized the eternal questions of love, spirituality and the quest for meaning.
Sources :
https://shs.cairn.info/revue-philosophique-2012-1-page-61?lang=fr
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafez_(po%C3%A8te)
http://www.teheran.ir/spip.php?article448#gsc.tab=0
https://lequotidien.lu/culture/en-iran-la-bonne-aventure-se-dit-en-poesie/
https://www.librairieclareton.fr/livre/23528711-le-livre-d-or-du-divan-hafez-segher
https://discover.hubpages.com/literature/A-Glimpse-Into-The-Life-and-Poetry-of-hafezHafiz
https://fr.irandestination.com/poetes-persans/
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Div%C3%A2n_de_Hafez
