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HAFEZ iii. HAFEZ’S POETIC ART The text of the Divān. Perhaps the greatest progress in research on Hafez during the past century has been made in the domain of philology. Critical editions have been published which begin to provide a reliable basis for the study of Hafez’s poetry. This is…

HAFEZ iv. LEXICAL STRUCTURE OF HAFEZ’S GHAZALS   In describing the lexical structure of Hafez’s ghazals, we must consider three main problems. First, the quantitative valuation may vary, depending on the edition of the ghazals used or of the manuscript(s) chosen for the scrutiny. Second, the data resulting from lexical…

HAFEZ v. MANUSCRIPTS OF HAFEZ   A major concern of 20th-century Hafez scholarship has been the establishment of a reliable text of his poems. While the texts of other poets have also been the subject of critical inquiry and debate, the case of Hafez seems exceptional. This may be partly…

HAFEZ vi. PRINTED EDITIONS OF THE DIVĀN OF HAFEZ Printed editions of Hafez’s poems include partial and complete collections, non-critical and critical editions, in lithographic, calligraphic, facsimile, and typeset formats. Niknām’s bibliography mentions over 300 printed editions (pp. 1-30), Rādfar’s lists 225 printed editions (pp. 247-63). Since the publication of…

HAFEZ viii. HAFEZ AND RENDI Jāmi was not sure if Hafez had studied with a Sufi, but he agreed that the Divān of Hafez is one of the best books that a Sufi could read (Nafaḥāt al-ons, ed. ʿĀbedi, p. 612). Many modern critics (including Moṭahhari and Purjawādi), while not…

HAFEZ ix. HAFEZ AND MUSIC Sound patterning and extra-prosodic sonority. The poetics of Hafez, perhaps more so than many Persian poets, depends on a sensuality of language and imagery. Smell, taste, texture, color and certainly sound imagery abound, often mixing synaesthetically. Enchanting music, bewitching beauty, intoxicating fragrance and delectable savor,…

HAFEZ x. TRANSLATIONS OF HAFEZ IN ENGLISH   The first poem by Hafez to appear in English was the work of Sir William Jones (q.v.; 1746-94). His translation of the “Tork-e šīrāzī” ghazal(q.v.), both in prose and verse, as a “Persian Song” (Jones 1771, pp. 135-40), set a precedent for…

HAFEZ xi. TRANSLATIONS OF HAFEZ IN GERMAN   The name of Hafez is closely associated with that of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (q.v.) in German literature. This is directly attributable to the status Goethe accords Hafez in his West-östlicher Divan, first published in 1819(Tafazoli, 2000, p. 88ff.). It is because…

HAFEZ xii. HAFEZ AND THE VISUAL ARTS The extensive scholarship devoted to the poetry of Hafez has not yet extended to a systematic consideration of the impact of his Divān on the visual arts. Manuscripts of his poetry have been considered primarily as sources for textual criticism but those same…

HAFEZ xiii. FĀL-E ḤĀFEẒ. See FĀL-NĀMAHĀ; DIVINATION.   xiv. HAFEZ’S TOMB (ḤĀFEẒIYA) The tomb of Hafez and the surrounding area, formerly known as Takiya-ye Ḥāfeẓ. The Hafeziya is located south of the Koran Gate (Darvāza-ye Qorʾān) on the northern edge of Shiraz, at the beginning of Golestān Street, formerly known…

ḤĀFEẒ EṢFAHĀNI, Mawlānā Moḥammad, known as Moḵtareʿ (inventor), was a 9th-10th/15th-16th century engineer who left a treaty, Se resāla dar ekòterāʿāt-e ṣanʿati. According to this treaty, he was the author of 14 inventions but unfortunately only three of his works are described in detail, while the others are mentioned only…

ḤĀFEẒ-E ABRU, Timurid historian known by this laqab, whose full name was ʿAbd-Allāh (or Nur-Allāh) b. Loṭf-Allāh b. ʿAbd-al-Rašid Behdādini (also Ḵᵛāfi or Haravi; d. Šawwāl 833/June 1430). He was the author of many historical and historico-geographical works in Persian, which were commissioned by Šāhroḵ, the Timurid ruler of Herat…

ḤĀFEẒ-e ʿAJAM, HĀFEẒ-AL-DIN MOḤAMMAD b. Aḥmad b. ʿĀdel Çelebi, scholar of religion and author (d. 957/1550). He was born at an unknown date at Bardaʿa in the Caucasus to a father whose name is varyingly given as Aḥmad and ʿĀdel. After completing the major part of his education in his…

HAFT (seven), the heptad and its cultural significance in Persian history. The number has been explained as the symbolic expression of a distinct culture and “the direct evidence” for its character (Leo Frobenius, apud Kirfel, p. 237). Among the Indo-European people, the number three seems to have been the most…

HAFT AMAHRASPAND YAŠT, or simply Haf-tān yašt (Panaino, 1994, p. 168), the second hymn of the Avestan corpus. It is dedicated to the seven Zoroastrian entities (see AMƎŠA SPƎNTA) and recited on the first seven days of the month (see CALENDARS i, pp. 660-63; Narten, pp. 9-10, 24). The text…