Hafez

This article is about the 14th century Persian poet. For other uses of this name, see Hafiz.
Hafez
Painting of Hafez by Abolhassan Sadighi.
Spiritual poet, mystic
Bornc. 1325
Shiraz, Muzaffarid Persia (present-day Iran)
Died1390 (aged 64–65)
Shiraz, Timurid Empire (present-day Iran)
Major shrineTomb of Hafez, Shiraz, Iran
InfluencesIbn Arabi, Khwaju, Al-Hallaj, Sanai, Anvari, Nizami, Sa'di, Khaqani, Attar
InfluencedSubsequent Persian lyric poets, Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mihály Csokonai
Tradition or genre
Mystic poetry (Ghazal, Irfan)
Major worksThe Divān of Hafez

Khājeh Shams-od-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی), known by his pen name Hafez (حافظ, Ḥāfeẓ, 'the memorizer; the (safe) keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz,[1] was a Persian lyric poet[2][3] whose collected works are regarded by many 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.[4][5]

Hafez is best known for his Divān, a collection of his surviving poems probably compiled after his death. His works can be described as "antinomian"[6] and with the medieval use of the term "theosophical"; the term "theosophy" in the 13th and 14th centuries was used to indicate mystical work by "authors only inspired by the 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 mystical form of love poems. He was a Sufi.[1]

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[7] His influence on Persian speakers appears in divination by his poems (Persian: فال حافظ, romanized: 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. His tomb is located in his birthplace of Shiraz. Adaptations, imitations and translations of his poems exist in all major languages.

  1. ^ a b "Ḥāfeẓ | Persian author", Encyclopedia Britannica, retrieved 2018-08-06
  2. ^ Encyclopaedia Iranica. "HAFEZ". www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2018-08-06. HAFEZ (Ḥāfeẓ), Šams-al-Din Moḥammad, of Shiraz (ca. 715-792/1315-1390), celebrated Persian lyric poet.
  3. ^ de Fouchécour, Charles-Henri (2018-07-01). "Ḥāfiẓ". Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfiẓ was a Persian lyric poet who lived in Shiraz from about 715/1315 to 792/1390.
  4. ^ Yarshater. Accessed 25 July 2010.
  5. ^ Aga Khan III, "Hafiz and the Place of Iranian Culture in the World", November 9, 1936 London.
  6. ^ "Hafez's Poetic Art". Encyclopaedia Iranica. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/hafez-iii Accessed August 23, 2016.
  7. ^ "Hafez" at Encyclopædia Iranica