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Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Hafez

It is important to note that only a few details of Hafez`s life are known. Hafez was born in Shiraz, Iran. At a very young age he was able to memorize the Quran and that is where he acquired the title Hafez. Hafez began his poetic work at a young age.

He acquired great popularity from it over the years. Several modern scholars have made attempts to make interpretations and translate some of his work into English. Twenty years after his death, the Hafezieh, was erected to honor Hafez in the Musalla Gardens in Shiraz.

The current mausoleum was designed by Andre Godard, a French archeologist and architect, in the late 1930s. The tomb is raised up on a dais amidst rose gardens, water channels, and orange trees. Inside, Hafez’s alabaster sarcophagus bears the inscription of two of his poems.

1.Hafez memorized the works of famous poets at an early age

Photo by The Dancing Rain on

It is believed that through Hafez鈥檚 fathers teachings that made Hafez learn the Quran by heart. He had accomplished this task at a very young age. It is also know that he had known the work of Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Muhammed Balkhi), Saadi, Farid ud-Din, and Nizami by heart. This was achieved by him by listening to his father鈥檚 recitations.

2.Hafez was part of a vigil

At the age of 60, Hafez participated in a 40-day vigil without food. He took part in a  vigil (chilla-nshini) where he sat in a circle that he drew himself. It was during this vigil that he met with Zayn al-Attar at their fortieth anniversary and was offered a cup of wine.

It is then that it is believed that he attained a Cosmic Consciousness. He hints at this episode in one of his verses in which he advises the reader to attain “clarity of wine” by letting it “sit for 40 days”.

3.Hafez`s Intellectual legacy

Hafez has made several accomplishments  throughout his life time and has influenced other poets in imitating his work and offers for patronage from Baghdad to India.  His work was first translated to English in the year 1771 by William Jones.

Some prolific leader even went ahead to recite his work. A few of them are; Debendranath Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore. Hafez`s intellectual work mad a great influence to other scholars and the Islamic religion at large.

4.Hafez was a popular poet

Hafez is regarded as one of the most popular poet in the state of Iran. His work has gained popularity through his work and poems. His work can be found in almost every Indian home.

Every October 12th  is celebrated as Hafez Day in Iran to celebrate his work and his influence to the religion. Hafez Day in Iran commemorates Hafez as the most influential Persian poets of all time and also as one of the most beloved poets among Persians.

5.Hafez`s Tomb

Tomb of Hafez in Shiraz, photo by Bernard Gagnon.

Hafez`s tomb is crowded by devoted people who visit the tomb in festive. People visiting here often sing and recite Hafez`s poems. Many of Iranians use Divan of Hafez for fortune telling. In addition, President Mohammad Khatami with actress Fatemeh Motamed-Aria used Divan of Hafez for fortune telling in 2007 Yalda night.

6.The use of Divan of Hafez for fortune telling

President Mohammad use Divan of Hafez for fortune telling, photo by Fars Media Corporation.

Many Iranians have been seen to use Divan of Hafez for fortune telling. It has attracted many of them during festivals. It is believed that most Iranian families usually have a Divan of Hafez in their house, and when they get together during the Nowruz or Yalda holidays, a poem is read out of it randomly.

7.Hafez`s work inspired other composers

In the genre of Persian classical music, Hafez along with Sa’di have been regarded as the most popular poets in the art of 膩v膩z, which is a non-metered form of singing. Also from the form ‘S膩qi-N膩meh’ in the radif of Persian music is based on the same title by Hafez.

It is believed that a number of composers; Parviz Meshkatian (Sheydaie), Hossein Alizadeh (Ahu-ye Vahshi), Mohammad Reza Lotfi (Golest膩n), and Siamak Aghaie (Y膩d B膩d) have composed metric songs (tasnif) based on ghazals of Hafez. Many of such composers have drawn inspiration from his work.

8.Interpretation of Hafez`s work

Doublures inside a 19th-century copy of the Div膩n of Hafez, Unknown author.

So many questions have arisen out of the interpretation of his work by different scholars overtime. A few early readers such as William Jones view his work as a conventional lyricist similar to European love poets.

On the other hand other like Henry Wilberforce saw his work as purely didactic, ecstatic  mysticism in nature. Others have even gone further to reject his work like Ralph Waldo, who has rejected the Sufistic view of the wine of Hafez poem.

9.Figurative gestures that are attributed to Hafez

There are a few figurative gestures in the Iranian culture that can be attributed to Hafez`s work. One of the figurative gestures for which he is most famous and which is believed to be among the most difficult to translate is Iham or artful punning.

A word such as gowhar, which could mean both “essence, truth” and “pearl”, would take on both meanings at once as in a phrase such as “a pearl/essential truth outside the shell of superficial existence”.

Hafez often took advantage of the aforementioned lack of distinction between lyrical, mystical, and panegyric writing by using highly intellectualized, elaborate metaphors and images to suggest multiple possible meanings. For example, a couplet from one of Hafez’s poems reads:

10.Modern English translation of Hafez`swork

There have been several attempts to translate some of his work in English over the years. A standard modern English edition of Hafez is Faces of Love of 2012 was translated by Dick Davis.

 Fatemeh Keshayarz, a Roshan Institute for Persian studies, University of Maryland notably attempted to translate the Beloved: 81 poems from Hafez:  Bloodaxe Books of 2018. Peter Avery also translated a complete edition of Hafez in English, The Collected Lyrics of Hafiz Of Shiraz, this was later published in 2007.

Indeed, Hafez legacy and work still holds some importance to the Iranian people. Several scholars have made attempts to translate and make interpretations to some of his poetic work this is a clear indication of the importance his work holds o the people an history.