SUFI STORIES #21. THE LOVER OF GOD – KHWAJA HAFEZ OF SHIRAZ, THE GREATEST PERSIAN SUFI POET.

I was introduced to the world of Hafez (May Allah sanctify his soul) by a Christian lady professor from USA. We met in Jordan in 2010 during one of my many travels overseas for interfaith programs, starting in 2006. My interfaith travels only stopped with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Khwaja Shamsuddin Muhammad Hafez Shirazi (1315-1390) was a Persian, like many of the famous Sufi poets before him. He is best known by his pen name Hafez (or Hafiz, meaning “memorizer”) because not only did he memorize the Qur’an from a young age, later he also memorized the poems of the eminent Sufi poets who preceded him – Nizami Ganjavi (1141-1209), Fariduddin Attar (1145-1220), Rumi (1207-1273) and Saadi Shirazi (1210-1291), may Allah sanctify their souls. “Khwaja” is the honorific in Persian for Master, Mawlana or Shaykh.

Although Rumi is more famous in the West, Hafez has a much greater influence on Persian culture and literature. His works are regarded by many Iranians as the pinnacle of Persian literature, and his poems are memorized and recited by many, and are used in proverbs and sayings, and influence much of Iranian culture and life. His Divan of Hafez is found in most homes. Many Iranian songs are based on his poems. His influence in Afghanistan and the former Persian lands is significant too.

The Fal-e Hafiz is an ancient tradition in which a reader asks Hafez for advice when facing a difficulty or at an important juncture in their life – treating his books as an oracle and opening them for guidance. This is still being practiced in Iran and some neighbouring countries. In the past, even Queen Victoria was said to have consulted Hafez in this manner in times of need. 

As a young man from a poor family, he used to work at a bakery. One day while delivering bread in an affluent neighbourhood, he saw a rich maiden and was absolutely enchanted by her ravishing beauty. Thereafter he began writing love poems whose subject was this girl of extreme beauty. But since he was poor and the girl was beyond his reach, the poems were never delivered to the girl of his dreams. 

After some time, he asked his Shaykh if there was anything that he could do so that God would grant his wish of marrying her.

The Shaykh said if he went into seclusion for forty days, doing nothing but prayers, dzikrullah (remembrance of God), supplications and fasting, then God would grant him whatever he wished for (provided it was something good and permissible) AND MORE.

So for the sake of the unrequited love, he took the challenge and did the 40-days seclusion. Once he completed the task, an angel of God appeared and asked him what his wish was. However, he instead became mesmerized by the indescribable beauty of the angel (who was neither male nor female), which far overshadowed the beauty of the maiden who was the reason for his going into seclusion.

He told the angel that the latter’s beauty made him forget about his wish! Then the angel said: If you are captivated by my beauty, then imagine the infinite beauty of my Creator! Hafez gasped in awe, and nearly collapsed from this realization.

Subhanallah! (Glory be to God, the Most Beautiful!)

Hafez came out of this experience totally forgetting about that girl and became madly in love with God instead. The love of God became the main subject of his poems, and the rest is history. Much later, he did get married, but to another maiden.

His poems/ghazals (lyrical poems, normally set to music) are about divine love, faith, spiritual virtues, exposing hypocrisy and sometimes, political commentary. He speaks about wine, taverns and drunkenness, like the Sufi poets before him did in their expression of ecstacy (although they never touched the forbidden stuff). To the mystics, wine is a metaphor for imbibing the love of God, and drunkenness is being intoxicated with the love for The Beloved.

When he was 60, he repeated this 40-days seclusion, but this time the object of his desire was God Himself. After 40 days, his Sufi Master appeared and witnessed his attainment of what the Sufis term “fana’” (annihilation in God), that is, the soul discards/annihilates its worldly attachments and become totally subservient to the Creator. Various terminologies have been applied to describe this highest of spiritual stations, including Cosmic Consciousness, Union with the Divine, etc. The descriptions of some of these terms would throw the Sufis headlong against the non-Sufis, so I’d better just say he reached the highest spiritual station. The safest description is that the soul becomes completely and absolutely one in purpose with the Divine. Some accuse the Sufis of claiming that their souls merge with that of God and become (part of) God, which is utter nonsense!

His works influenced many scholars in the East and West alike, including Nietzsche, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Emerson, who called Hafez “a poet for poets” said of him: "He fears nothing. He sees too far, he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be." Goethe said: “Hafez has no peer.” Johannes Brahms was so touched by Hafez’s verses that he used several in his compositions.

During his time, even the vicious Mongol conqueror Tamerlane (Timur) became an admirer.

Today only about 1,000 of his poems remain in various collections. Modern writers have compiled, translated and interpreted these in several books, some of which are: Faces of Love (2012, translated by Dick Davis); The Collected Lyrics of Hafiz of Shiraz (2007, Peter Avery); and its abridged version entitled Hafiz of Shiraz: Thirty Poems: An Introduction to the Sufi Master. Adaptations, imitations and translations of his poems exist in all major languages.

Unfortunately, many of Hafez poems in English now circulating may not be actual translations of his original poems, but are compositions of contemporary poet Daniel Ladinsky who claimed that Hafez appeared to him in a dream and handed him the English “translations” that he published. The poems imitate the style of Hafez and were wrongfully published as authored by Hafez and translated by him.

For more details read the expose here: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/6/14/fake-hafez-how-a-supreme-persian-poet-of-love-was-erased

Hafez died peacefully in 1390 at age 75. Twenty years after his death, a tomb (the Hafezieh) was erected to honour him in the Musalla Gardens in Shiraz, amidst rose gardens, water channels, and orange trees. His mausoleum is visited by many, with various activities done (recitations of his peoms, etc) especially on October 12 each year, which is celebrated as Hafez Day in Iran. It is a favourite destination for tourists, lovers, wedding couples and those seeking his guidance.

GOD LOVES THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.

During one of my interfaith travels, I was taught a beautiful Sufi song (in Urdu) by a Jewess who had learned it from the Sufis during her travels to Pakistan.

Since then (the meaning of) the lyrics of the chorus kept playing in my mind over and over again:

“To love God, is much loved by God.

(The Beloved said): All I ask of you is forever to remember Me as loving you!”

Everytime I reflect on these word, my eyes get wet. We often take for granted this wonderful experience of life that He has given us; all the favours that He has granted us; and all the lovely people He has brought into our lives. O how thankful we should be. And all He asks is that we always remember that He loves us and He wants us to love Him in return!

Is that too much for the Most Gracious, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, Most Forgiving and Most Loving God to ask of us? With all the favours given to us, we should love Him without having to be reminded. But we are often forgetful.

Many of us forget about Him except when we are in trouble or when we need special favours from Him.

Since then I appreciate better why Allah (Glorified and Sublime is He) asked us Muslims to pray to Him 5 times a day (and more as supererogatory). Without these compulsory prayers, most of us will forget to ask for His forgiveness for our sins, offer our gratitude for His many favours and express our love for Him. And in our prayer prostrations (sujud/sajda), we physically demonstrate our surrender, subservience and love to Him as our God, Creator and Lord.

We can of course ask God for forgiveness and express our gratitude and love to Him at any time outside of prayer, but doing it while prostrating is a different experience althogether. We feel the humility of our servanthood towards the grandeur of The Almighty and Most Loving God!

It is our family tradition that on certain special occasions, the children kiss the feet of the parents (but not prostrate to them, as prostration is only to God). When my youngest daughter was a child, she used to kiss my feet almost everyday. Each time she did that, I felt so loved, and also felt so loving towards her. Then it struck me – God must feel the same way about me everytime I prostrate to Him!

Let me end with these words:

God loves us more than we can ever imagine.

God loves those who love Him.

Those who love Him most are loved by Him most.

Those who love Him must surrender to His Will, and serve Him.

Those who love Him must serve Him with love and sincerity.

But, Loving Him is not valid (for Muslims) if we don’t also love Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Loving Him is not valid if we don’t also love all of Mankind.

Serve God through serving Humanity.

To help remember the above, Muslims should remember this mnemonic:

ISLAM = “I Sincerely Love Allah and Muhammad” and “I Sincerely Love All Mankind.”

 

Salam/Peace. See you at my next SUFI STORIES post!