Hafiz

Hafiz, a.k.a. Shams-ud-din Muhammad (c.1320-1389) was a Persian poet, born in Shiraz. He has written an estimated 5000 poems, of which 500 to 700 have survived. Hafiz is part of the Sufi tradition, and he considered himself one with God, and often describes that experience in his poetry. Rumi, Kabir, Saadi, Shams, Francis of Assisi, Ramakrishna, Nanak, Milarepa and Lao Tzu are all known to have achieved perfection or union because of their extraordinary romance with the beloved.

Hafiz grew up the youngest of three sons of poor parents. His father was a coal merchant and died when Hafiz was in his teens. He worked as a baker's assistant by day, and used the money he earned to pay his tuition for studies at night. He learnt classical medieval education: Koranic law and theology, grammar, mathematics and astronomy. He also mastered calligraphy. He studied the great Persian poets: Saadi of Shiraz, Farid-ud-din-Attar and Jalal ud-din Rumi.

His teacher was Muhammad Attar, who he often had a challenging relationship with.

Here’s a sampling of some of his poetry, translated by Daniel Ladinsky, from the book The Gift, poems by Hafiz, the great Sufi master.


An infant in your arms

The tide of my love
Has risen so high let me flood over

You.

Close your eyes for a moment
And maybe all your fears and fantasies

Will end.

If that happened
God would became an infant in your

Arms

And then you
would have to nurse all

Creation!

Too beautiful

The fire
Has roared near you.
The most intimates parts of your body
Got scorched,

So
Of course you have run
From your marriages into a
Different
House

That will shelter you
From embracing every aspect of Him.

God has
Roamed near us.
The lashes on your heart’s eyes got burnt.
Of course we have
Run away

From his sweet flaming breath
That proposed an annihilation
Too real,

Too
Beautiful.

My Eyes So Soft

Don’t
Surrender
Your loneliness so quickly
Let it cut more
Deep.

Let it ferment and season you
As few human
Or even divine ingredients can.

Something missing in my heart tonight
Has made my eyes so soft,
My voice so
Tender,

My need of God
Absolutely
Clear.