Shiraz is known as the poetic capital of Persia, because two of the greatest poets of the world, Hafez (1324-1391) and Sa'di (1209-1291), come from this city. Sa'di, the traveler, was born in Baghdad and saw a great part of the world before he finally settled in Shiraz, where he died.
Hafez on the other hand, was born in Shiraz and, except for one very short journey, never even left his city. 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.
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.
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.
There is no definitive version of his collected works (or diwan); editions vary from 573 to 994 poems. In Iran, his collected works have come to be used as an aid to popular divination. His poemns are frequently used in traditional Iranian music and 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.
When Hafez died, controversey 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):
Where are the tidings of union? that I may arise-
Forth from the dust I will rise up to welcome thee!
My soul, like a homing bird, yearning for paradise,
Shall arise and soar, from the snares of the world set free.
When the voice of thy love shall call me to by thy slave,
I shall rise to a greater far than the mastery
Of life and the living, time and the mortal span.
Pour down, O Lord! from the clouds of thy guiding grace,
The rain of a mercy that quickeneth on my grave,
Before, like dust that the wind bears from place to place,
I arise and flee beyond the knowledge of man.
When to my grave thou turnest thy blessed feet,
Wine and the lute thou shalt bring in thine hand to me;
Thy voice shall ring through the fold of my winding-sheet,
And I will arise and dance to thy minstrelsy.
Though I be old, clasp me one night to thy breast,
And I, when the dawn shall come to awaken me,
With the flush of youth on my cheek from thy bosom will rise.
Rise up! let mine eyes delight in thy stately grace!
Thou art the goal to which all men's endeavor has pressed,
And thou the idol of Hafez's worship; thy face
From the world and life shall bid him come forth and arise!
Translation by Gertrude Bell
On Hafez Memorial Day and every Iranian who loves poetry comes to his tomb to commemorate the great poet while reading, reciting or listening to some of his poems. Even during the rest of the year Iranians of every age and education visit this place to pray or to read his poems, or just to listen to others while sipping the tea.
For us from west this is a rally strange experience.
What has Iran done on August 22 with its ansver/ proposition on the nuclear issue could be described by one semi-miraculous mythical tale which was woven around Hafez after his death, and which, in one famous tale, "a tradition too pretty to be trusted" describes a noted historian:
The famed conqueror Timur the Lame angrily summoned Hafez to him in to give him an explanation for one of his verses:
Belle of Shiraz, grant me but love's demand,
And for your mole - that clinging grain of sand
Upon a cheek of pearl - Hafiz woul give
All of Bokhara, all of Samarkand...
With Samarkand being Timur's capital and Bokhara his kingdom's finest city.
"With the blows of my lustrous sword," Timur complained, "I have subjugated most of the habitable globe...to embellish Samarkand and Bokhara, the seats of my government; and you, miserable wretch, would sell them for the black mole of a Turk of Shiraz!".
Hafez, so the tale goes, bowed deeply and replied "Alas, O Prince, 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.
Iranians (Persians) are intelligent, educated nation with ancient civilisation culture. With their refusal to act openly in Lebanon crisis and this, delayed answer to nuclear issue, they have stepped out of the crisis focus leaving North Korea as the only remaining target for ongoing cause construction proceedings whose scope is to start the WWIII.
Most of above text about Shiraz and Hafez was sourced from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hafez
Remaining, political part reflects the wievs of this author.
Below is Hafez tomb in Shiraz during an ordinary day.
IZAKOVIC
http://www.deepspace4.com
