/ 
 
 ?X5- 
 
 GIFT OF 
 Mrs. I. M. Aiken 
 
 yjm^rio 
 

Ube XKHls&om of tbe Bast Series 
 
 Edited by 
 
 L. CRANMER-BYNG 
 
 Dr. S. A. KAPADIA 
 
 THE RUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
First Edition . • . . October, 1910 
 ReJ>rinted . » ♦ • . Julv, 19 12 
 
WISDOM OF THE EAST 
 
 THE RUBA'IYAT 
 OF HAFIZ 
 
 TRANSLATED WITH INTRODUCTION 
 
 BY SYED ABDUL MAJID, LL.D. 
 
 RENDERED INTO ENGLISH iVERSE 
 
 BY L. CRANMER-BYNG 
 
 ** By cup is meant the wine of eternity, 
 And by this wine we mean self-annihilation." 
 
 Saki-nama of Hafi2, 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 E. P. BUTTON AND COMPANY 
 191S 
 
Printed by Sazell, WaUo,^ ^ Viney, U., Imulon an^ Aymury, Bnglana. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 RuBA'iYi(T OF HAriz 39 
 
 Explanatory Notes to Ruba'iyXt , . 57 
 
 Appendix to Introduction . . p 69 
 
EDITORIAL NOTE 
 
 The object of the Editors of this series is a very 
 definite one. They desire above all things that, 
 in their humble way, these books shall be the 
 ambassadors of good-will and understanding 
 between East and West — the old world of 
 Thought and the new of Action. In this en- 
 deavourj and in their own sphere, they are but 
 followers of the highest example in the land. 
 They are confident that a deeper knowledge of 
 the great ideals and lofty philosophy of Oriental 
 thought may help to a revival of that true spirit 
 of Charity which neither despises nor fears the 
 nation of another creed and colour. 
 
 L. CEANMER-BYNG. 
 S. A. KAPADIA. 
 
 nobthbrook society, 
 21 Cromwell Road, 
 Kensington, S.VV. 
 
THE RUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Life of Hafiz 
 
 KhwAja Shamsuddin Mohammad, better known 
 by his takhaUus {nom-de-plume) Hafiz, the most 
 national and the most popular of the Persian 
 poets, was born in Shiraz in the early part of the 
 fourteenth century. The exact date of his birth 
 has been a fruitful source of discussion among 
 his biographers and is still a matter of doubt. 
 Little is known of his family beyond this, that it 
 was good. Like many men of genius, both in 
 Europe and Asia, he did not claim a wealthy 
 parentage. He was educated in the common 
 school of poverty, and went through the same 
 discipline as other men of genius. In his youth 
 he became a disciple of Sheikli Mohammad Attar, 
 a learned sufiistic teacher in Shiraz. Unlike 
 other mystics of the time. Attar did not give him- 
 self completely up to a life of asceticism. He 
 
8 INTRODUCTION 
 
 had truly grasped the philosophy of life by 
 neglecting neither the body nor the mind. The 
 physical world and the world of intellect were 
 of equal importance to him. His disciple, the 
 youthful Hafiz, was not slow to learn this useful 
 lesson, which enabled him to steer through many 
 difficulties. Wise and wholesome as the teaching 
 was, it did not fail to bring the wrath of other 
 Sufis down upon them. Some of these Sufis 
 clothed themselves in blue garments in imitation 
 of the colour of the sky, while, like the sky, they 
 claimed to possess within themselves heavenly 
 desires. Like Omar, Hafiz found it difficult to 
 keep silent on what appeared to him only a 
 cloak of hypocrisy. Referring to them in one 
 of his poems, he says : " I am the servant of all 
 who scatter dregs of the cup and are clothed in 
 one colour [i.e, in sincerity], but not of those 
 whose bodies are clad in blue while black is the 
 colour of their hearts." 
 
 Hafiz never submitted to any strict monastic 
 rule, and when he assumed the dervish habit he 
 took care to temper his orthodoxy with the free 
 doctrines learnt from his teacher. 
 
 About four miles from Shiraz there is a place 
 called Pir-e-Sabz, i.e. Green Pir, situated on a hill 
 called Baba Kohi. It was said that if any one 
 passed forty nights in that place without sleep 
 he would achieve the gift of composing poems. 
 Hafiz determined to go through the discipline. 
 
LIFE OF HAFIZ 9 
 
 He used to pass nights there, while at daytime 
 he used to take rest. About the same time he 
 fell violently in love with a damsel named Shakh-e- 
 Nabat (Branch of Candy), who paid little heed 
 to the suit of Hafiz ; but on the fortieth day 
 she called him in and said that she preferred a 
 man of genius to a prince. Like the enchantress 
 in the Isle of Bliss, she would have kept him 
 from completing the course ; but Hafiz remem- 
 bered his vow and returned to Pir-e-Sabz. At 
 the dawn of the day he fell into a trance, wherein 
 he saw Khwaja Khizar, the most learned of the 
 Prophets, revealing himself to him. He blessed 
 him with the gift of eloquence and poetry. On 
 recovering his consciousness he greeted his 
 beloved with enchanting eloquence and verses. 
 Thus, it is said, Hafiz became a poet. 
 
 The great poetical gifts of Hafiz were revealed 
 by an accident, which so often accounts for the 
 origin of wonderful things in this world. His 
 uncle, named Sadi, who used to dabble in poetry, 
 had found his power to compose beyond the 
 first verse of a poem unavailing, and had given 
 it up in despair. While he was away Hafiz not 
 only completed the verse, but afterwards com- 
 pleted the whole poem. As uncles proverbially 
 do, he grew jealous of the young poet and cursed 
 him and his works. It is still believed that the 
 curse hangs over his Diwdn, and that he who 
 makes a special study of that beautiful collection 
 
10 INTRODUCTION 
 
 of poems is bound to become afflicted in reason. 
 It is true enough ; for the poems are so fine that 
 one cannot help having his senses charmed away 
 while studying them. 
 
 There are various periods in the life of Hafiz 
 showing how he passed his days under the 
 patronage of various people. His first patron 
 was Shah Ishak, Governor of Shiraz ; but he 
 was taken prisoner by Mobarezuddin Mohammad 
 Mozaffar and executed outside the Persepolis. 
 This happened in 1357. Mozaffar suffered for 
 his wicked deed at the hands of his own son, 
 Shah Shuja, who caused his eyes to be put out. 
 He extended his patronage to Hafiz ; but, being 
 only a minor poet, was very jealous of his greater 
 rival. He lost no opportunity of criticising Hafiz 
 and his poems. On one occasion, defeated in the 
 trial of wits, he said to Hafiz, " In one and 
 the same you write of wine, of Stifiism, and of 
 the objects of your affections. Now this is con- 
 trary to the practice of the eloquent." 
 
 Hafiz, in reply, is reported to have said, " That 
 which your majesty has deigned to speak is the 
 essence of the truth ; yet the poems of Hafiz 
 enjoy a wide celebrity, whereas those of some 
 other writers have not passed beyond the gates 
 of Shiraz." Beyond such occasional difference 
 in literary matters. Shah Shuja treated the poet 
 well — a fact which Hafiz fully appreciated. 
 "Since the time," said Hafiz, "that the wine- 
 
LIFE OF HAFIZ 11 
 
 cup received honour from Shah Shuja, Fortune 
 has put the goblet of joy into the hands of all 
 wine-drinkers." 
 
 Again, in praise of the Shah, he said, " May 
 the ball of the heavens be for ever in the crook of 
 thy polo-stick, and the whole world be a playing- 
 ground unto thee. The fame of thy goodness 
 has attained to the four quarters of the earth ; 
 may it be for all time a guardian unto thee ! " 
 
 In order to draw the ire of the theologians of 
 Shiraz, the Shah accused Hafiz of having written 
 lines which occur in Ghazal, No. 528 (last two lines), 
 expressing that the faith of Hafiz was unorthodox. 
 Fortunately for the poet, he came to know of it 
 before they sat in judgment over his lines and his 
 fate. He at once added a line putting it into the 
 mouth of a Christian, there being no harm in a 
 Christian calling in question the faith of Hafiz. 
 The decision was a foregone conclusion. Hafiz 
 was acquitted and the Shah censured for his 
 groundless accusation. 
 
 Kawamuddin (d. 1363), the vizier, was his 
 patron too. He founded a college for Hafiz in 
 Shiraz. Hafiz there gave lectures on the Quoran 
 and read out his own verses. Riza Kuli says that 
 he wrote a valuable commentary on the Quoran. 
 His fame as a teacher spread far and wide and 
 drew hosts of seekers after knowledge from all 
 parts of the world to Shiraz. 
 
 Hafiz seems to have entertained a very high 
 
12 INTRODUCTION 
 
 appreciation of the liberality of the vizier. It 
 is apparent from Kitd (No. 581), where he asks 
 the chamberlain to remind him of the allowance 
 due to the poet, or from Kitd (No. 605), where 
 he mourns his loss and practically says that 
 liberality has come to an end after him. Again, 
 in Ghazal (No. 412) he speaks of him in the 
 highest terms of praise. He reserves to himself 
 the gift of sweet song and eloquence and extends 
 to the vizier the gift of generosity, spreading, 
 like the lights over all the world. 
 
 Hafiz was induced to pay a visit to Shah 
 Yehya of Yezd ; but was unfortunately treated 
 with coldness. In Ohazal (No. 477) he says : 
 " Shah Hormuz did me many acts of kindness 
 without seeing me and without myself praising 
 him, while the Shah of Yezd saw me — and I 
 sang his praises — and gave me nothing. O 
 Hafiz ! Do not be put out, as such are the ways 
 of kings." It was such treatment which made 
 him home-sick and made him exclaim : " Why 
 should I not return to mine own home ? Why 
 should I not lay my dust in the street of mine 
 own beloved ? My bosom cannot endure the 
 sorrows of exile ; let me return to mine own 
 city, let me be master of my heart's desire." 
 
 Sultan Owais of Bagdad (d. 1374) seems at 
 first to have extended kindness to the poet, but 
 to have cooled down afterwards. The lines of 
 Ghazal (No. 204) bear this out, and Hafiz re- 
 
LIFE OF HAFIZ 13 
 
 proachfully says that the fault does not lie at 
 his door. 
 
 Quite in contrast with the behaviour of Sultan 
 Owais stands that of Sultan Alimed-i-Ilkhani 
 (d. 1410) of Bagdad. He made liberal offers to the 
 poet, only to be refused. Hafiz, however, speaks 
 very highly of him in Ghazal (No. 497), and calls 
 him the " Khan, son of Khan," " Emperor of 
 imperial descent," " the soul of the world," " as 
 liberal as a Khakan and as energetic as Changiz." 
 
 The fame of Hafiz spread even to the heart 
 of the distant kingdoms of Bengal and the 
 Deccan. About the year 1369 he was invited by 
 Ghyasuddin Purbi, King of Bengal. No induce- 
 ment was strong enough for Hafiz to make him 
 leave Shiraz, with its charming surroundings and 
 enchanting society. He wrote an apology for 
 not being able to attend the court of Bengal in 
 Ghazal (No. 158), and was handsomely rewarded. 
 
 Having heard of the esteem in which he was 
 regarded at the court of Sultan Mohammad Shah 
 Bahmani, King of the Deccan,^ Hafiz desired to 
 pay a visit to it ; but was unable to defray the 
 expenses of travelling. This reached the ears 
 of Mir FazluUah Anjoo, the vizier of the Sultan, 
 who at once sent him the necessary amount. 
 Having paid part of it to his creditors and his 
 relations, he proceeded as far as Lahur. Highway 
 robbery was very frequent in those days, and so 
 ^ Farishta, the historian, narrates this. 
 
14 INTRODUCTION 
 
 the poet deemed it more prudent to lend the 
 remainder to a friend. Thus becoming once 
 more penniless, he returned to Hurmuz with two 
 Persian merchants. There he embarked on the 
 ship sent by the Sultan to convey him to India ; 
 but a storm arose. The sight of a boundless sea 
 frightened him out of his wits. His heart sank, 
 and the next moment found him on the shore 
 singing the praises of God and of the beauties of 
 Shiraz. To the kind vizier he wrote the following 
 lines, which I take from the admirable translation 
 of Colonel Clarke : 
 
 To pass life a single moment in grief, a world altogether 
 
 is not worth. 
 For wine, sell our rugged religious garment ; for more 
 
 than this it is not worth. 
 At first, in hope of profit, easy appeared the toil of the 
 
 sea ; 
 A mistake I made ; for a hundred jewels this great deluge 
 
 (ocean) is not worth 
 The pomp of the imperial crown — whose grandeur is fear 
 
 of life ; 
 Is vainly a heart-alluring crown ; but the abandoning of 
 
 one's life is not worth. 
 
 Time passes on until we come to the year 1392, 
 whenTimur (1336-1405), fresh from his victories 
 in Fars and against Shah Mansur of Irak, ordered 
 Hafiz to be brought before him. In Ghazal (No. 8), 
 the poet says that if his beloved would captivate 
 his heart, he would give away Samarcand and 
 
LIFE OF HAFIZ 15 
 
 Bokhara for her black mole. Having heard 
 this, Timur, who did not appreciate this liberality 
 with the place of his birth, called for an answer 
 from the poet. Hafiz was frightened, but his 
 wit saved him. He said : 
 
 " O Sultan of the world ! Had it not been 
 for this way of giving away, I would not have 
 fallen to this ! " 
 
 Timur felt flattered, and rewarded the poet. 
 
 Turning to the home-life of Hafiz, we find him 
 married and father of a son. He was passionately 
 attached to his wife, and worshipped his son. 
 He survived them both and lamented their loss 
 in several exquisite poems. 
 
 One can get an idea of the attachment Hafiz 
 bore to his wife from the poem written when, in 
 a moment of displeasure, she left for her father's 
 place, or the one written to bewail her death. 
 The reader will be able to judge from the following 
 extracts how fine the originals are : 
 
 O holy beloved ! Who will unveil thee ? 
 
 And O Bird of Paradise ! Who will give com and water 
 to thee ? 
 
 Sleep has departed from my eye, in this liver-consuming 
 thought, 
 
 That who has embraced thee, in what place and dwelling 
 hast slept thou ? 
 
 Suddenly thou departed from the embrace of me, heart- 
 scorched. 
 
 Alas ! what place has received the luxury of thy sleep ? 
 
 Thou didst not hear the plaint and the wail that I made. 
 
16 INTRODUCTION 
 
 It is evident, idol ! that thy place is high (t.e. too high 
 
 for my voice to reach thee). 
 Thou dost not ask the beggar (i.e. me), and I am afraid that 
 The thought of forgiveness and the desire of merit (in 
 
 consequence) are not in thee. 
 O palace, heart-kindling ! The resting-place for affection 
 
 that thou art ! 
 O God ! the calamity of time may not ruin it ! 
 Beware ! in this desert the fountain-head is far away, 
 So that the ghoul of the desert may not deceive thee with 
 
 mirage (or false images). 
 The arrow which thou shot with thy glance, missed. 
 What now will thy good judgment think ? 
 O heart ! on what principle wilt thou travel on the path 
 
 of old age 
 (If) all at once the time of thy youth is spent in a wrong 
 
 way ? 
 That intoxicated eye struck the path to the heart of 
 
 lovers ; 
 It is manifest from this way that thy wine is intoxicated. 
 Hafiz is not the kind of slave who will fly from his master. 
 Be kind, and come back, for I am consumed with thy wrath. 
 
 This was written to his wife. Her heart was 
 touched ; she thought better of her decision and 
 returned, to his great delight. 
 
 The few lines of the other poem find him 
 bewailing the loss of the one whose temporary 
 absence made his heart ache. 
 
 That beloved on account of whom my house the abode of 
 
 Pari (fairy) was. 
 From head to foot like a Pari, free from defect was. 
 My heart said, I will sojourn in this city which is perfumed 
 
 by her scent. 
 
LIFE OF HAFIZ 17 
 
 (I), helpless, did not know that my beloved bent upon 
 
 travelling was. 
 Not only from the mystery of my heart the curtain fell, 
 When the habit of the sky (time) to tear (the) curtain was. 
 Acceptable to the wise that moon of mine, to whom 
 With the beauty of manner the habit of uplifting with a 
 
 mere glance was. 
 From my grasp the malignant star put her out, 
 Alas ! what can I do ? This the calamity of the moon's 
 
 revolution was. 
 heart ! Find an excuse, as you are a beggar and to her. 
 In the kingdom of beauty, the head crowned was. 
 Pleasant was the bank of water and the rose and the 
 
 verdure, but 
 Alas ! that moving treasure (beloved) a traveller was. 
 The nightingale (lover) ^vill kill itself out of anger when 
 
 to the rose (beloved) 
 With the morning breeze at the dawn splendour was. 
 Happy was that time which was spent with the beloved. 
 The rest all fruitless, lacking knowledge was. 
 Every treasure of bliss that God gave to Hafiz 
 On account of the night-prayer and the morning suppli- 
 cation was. 
 
 He mourns the loss of his son in several places, 
 out of which I give the translation of Kitd (No. 
 606), and one line from Ghazal (No. 117). 
 
 It is the season of spring, and the rose and the tulip and 
 
 the narcissus, 
 Come out of the earth, why in earth art thou ? 
 Like the spring cloud I pass on. I weep bitter tears 
 Over thj'^ dust to such an extent (in hopes) that thou wilt 
 
 oome out of the earth. 
 
 KUd, 606. 
 
 2 
 
18 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The ease of the eye of mine, that fruit of my heart, ever 
 
 be his memory ! 
 That went himself an easy journey and made my journey 
 
 (through life) hard. 
 
 Ghazcd, 117. 
 
 Hafiz died towards the end of the fourteenth 
 century. The exact date of his demise cannot 
 be ascertained. According to the slab on his 
 tomb it happened in 1388 ; but according to 
 other evidences it is put down to have happened 
 in 1389, 1391, or 1394. 
 
 He rests in the garden of Mosalla, about two 
 miles north-east of Shiraz on the bank of the 
 river Ruknabad, of which he sang praises in 
 Ohazal (No. 8). Like the historic mulberry-tree in 
 Christ College, Cambridge, planted by Milton, or 
 the tree planted by Bacon in Gray's Inn, there 
 was a famous cypress-tree planted by Hafiz which 
 *' cast its shadow o'er the dust of his desire." 
 
 In 1452 Sultan Abul Kasim Baber took Shiraz. 
 His vizier, Moulama Mohammad Muammai, a 
 great admirer of Hafiz, erected a monument to 
 adorn the site, called Hafiziana, and to shelter 
 the grave of Hafiz. About the year 1811 Vakil 
 Kasim Khan Zand placed over the tomb a slab 
 of alabaster. On the face of the slab is inscribed : 
 
 O Thou 
 
 Who endurest, 
 
 although 
 
 all things pass away I 
 
LIFE OF HAFIZ 19 
 
 Below are inscribed the lines of Ghazal (No. 439). 
 It may not be out of place to give their render- 
 ings. 
 
 Where is the tidings of union with Thee, that with my 
 
 soul I may rise ? 
 Bird of righteousness am I, and from the snare of the 
 
 world I rise 
 In love for Thee who calleth me, Thy slave. 
 From the mastery of existence and dwelling I rise. 
 God ! out of the cloud of guidance send a shower 
 Before (the time) when like dust from amidst (things) I rise. 
 On my grave without wine and minstrel do not sit, 
 So that with Thy perfume from the grave, dancing, I rise. 
 Although I am old, hold me close to Thy bosom for a night. 
 So that in the morning from Thy embrace yoimg I rise. 
 Get up and show your stature, O idol ! with graceful 
 
 movement, 
 So that, like Hafiz, from the desire of life and the world I 
 
 Hafiz as a Poet 
 
 There are two aspects in which we must regard 
 Hafiz — as a poet and as a philosopher. In the 
 former capacity he was undoubtedly of the 
 first rank. FitzGerald, speaking of him, says : 
 *' Hafiz is the most Persian of the Persians. He 
 is the best representative of their character, 
 whether his Saki and wine be real or mystical. 
 Their (other Persian poets') religion and philo- 
 sophy is soon seen through, and always seems to 
 me cuckooed over like a borrowed thing which 
 
20 INTRODUCTION 
 
 people once having got, do not know how to 
 parade enough. To be sure, their roses and 
 nightingales are repeated often enough. But 
 Hafiz and old Omar KJiayyam ring like true 
 metal." 
 
 Again, Dawlat Shah says : " Hafiz, the king 
 of the learned ones and the cream of the wise 
 ones, was the wonder of the time. His speech 
 is such that it cometh not into the creating power 
 of man. Verily, it hath the desire for the Hidden, 
 and the taste of the order of fakr, and they call 
 him Lisan-ul-ghaib (Tongue of the Hidden)." 
 
 Sudi, the Bosnian, who wrote a great commen- 
 tary on Hafiz 's works towards the seventeenth 
 century, was simply carried away by the enchant- 
 ing beauty of Hafiz's verses. He exclaimed that 
 they were divine, and " derived their innate 
 grace from having been bathed in the water of 
 life, and that in beauty they equalled the dark- 
 eyed Houris of Paradise." 
 
 He is original throughout and acknowledges 
 no authority but nature. '* He scorns to use any 
 art but art to conceal art." If there are any 
 defects, they are his own ; if there are beauties, 
 he himself is the painter. So rare a genius few 
 countries have ever produced. 
 
 Rich in fancy, powerful in imagination are 
 his verses. They are original and full of grandeur, 
 glowing and without restraint, gay and grave. 
 They speak of the divine emotion of love and of 
 
HAFIZ AS A POET 21 
 
 the pleasure derived from celestial or terrestrial 
 wine. He draws beautiful pictures of his unre- 
 quited love, and describes in glowing terms the 
 beauties of flowers and the sweet melodies of 
 singing birds during the spring. Beauty in every 
 form does not escape his masterly touch. He 
 deals with the world's vanities, instability of life, 
 the evanescence of joys, and sings the praises of 
 the Creator and those of the prophet Mohammad. 
 Charity uncircumscribed by any limit, and a 
 spirit of toleration permeate his writings. Liberty 
 of conscience receives full recognition, while fre- 
 quent sarcastic remarks upon the so-called re- 
 ligious men are met with. 
 
 His style is flawless — concise but expressive, 
 dazzlingly bright and finished. Not a single 
 word is superfluous ; every word has its own 
 place, the loss of which is the loss of a beauty. 
 It is unaffected and clear. There is no straining of 
 the natural mirth, or loss of harmony in his 
 sonorous cadences. 
 
 The powerful eloquence, the music of his 
 songs, the delicate rhythms, the beat of the 
 refrain, and the captivating imagery, always 
 enthrall the readers of his poems. The spirit of 
 youth and love and joy, together with a nobler 
 humanity which cries out across the ages, char- 
 acterise them. When he says, " My beloved is 
 gone, and I had not even bidden him farewell ! " 
 the words are as touching now as they wer^ 
 
22 INTRODUCTION 
 
 several centuries ago. Equally simple and 
 pathetic is his mourning for his son, " He him- 
 self went an easy way, but made mine hard." 
 And for his wife : " Then said my heart, I will 
 sojourn myself in this city which is perfumed by 
 her scent ; her feet were bent upon a longer 
 journey, but I, helpless, knew it not." A more 
 passionate image of love you would not find 
 even in the sweet songs of the Swan of the Avon 
 than : '' Open my grave when I am dead, and 
 thou shalt see a cloud of smoke rising from out 
 of it ; then shalt thou know that the fire still 
 bums in my dead heart — yea, it has set my very 
 winding-sheet alight." Or : ''If the scent of 
 her hair were to blow across my dust when I 
 have been dead a hundred years, my mouldering 
 bones would rise and come dancing out of the 
 tomb." Speaking of love he says : "I have 
 estimated the influence of Reason upon Love, 
 and found that it is like that of a raindrop upon 
 the ocean, which makes one little mark upon the 
 water's face and disappears." These are im- 
 mortal utterances, " which time cannot dim or 
 rust," and truly interpret the language of the 
 heart. 
 
 The Diwdn, or the collection of poems by Hafiz, 
 deserves a mention. Sudi, the great Turkish 
 editor of Hafiz, says that during his lifetime 
 Hafiz was too busy teaching and composing 
 philosophical treatises to collect together his 
 
HAFIZ AS A POET 28 
 
 poems ; that he used to recite them in the 
 college founded especially for him by Kawd- 
 muddin, expressing a wish that these pearls 
 might be strung together for the adornment 
 of his age. It was left for his pupil, Syed 
 Kasim-al-Anwar, to collect them together. 
 This makes up the famous Diwdn of Hafiz. 
 
 The language of the Diwdn, as understood by 
 the outward form, gave rise to the difficulty 
 whether it was orthodox enough to be read by 
 the public. The matter was referred to the 
 Sufi Abu Suoud, who decided in favour of the 
 Diwdn, But for his decision the beautiful collec- 
 tion would have remained confined to oblivion, 
 much to the loss of Persian literature. Practi- 
 cally giving it ecclesiastical imyrimatur he said 
 " that every one was at liberty to use his own 
 judgment in the manner of the meaning to be 
 assigned to the poems of Hafiz." 
 
 From one end of the world to the other the 
 Diwdn is well known, and its poems are repeated 
 and sung by all those who take any interest in 
 Persian literature. There are some admirable 
 translations of Hafiz. 
 
 There are also various commentaries on Hafiz, 
 but unfortunately there is none except that of 
 Sudi which exactly expresses his true meaning. 
 Each has its own peculiar charms, but all suffer 
 from the same attempt on the part of scholars 
 as characterised the philosophers of the Middle 
 
24 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Ages, who endeavoured to read something 
 into religion which, instead of simplifying it, 
 made it more elaborate and difficult to under- 
 stand. 
 
 Yet another feature of the Diwdn deserves 
 mention. Like the Aeneid, the Diwdn is con- 
 sulted as a guide to future actions. 
 
 In the memoirs of Sher Khan Lodi it is related 
 that the enemies of Hafiz had gone so far as to 
 accuse him of heresy, and so there was a question 
 as to whether he should receive the Moslem rites 
 of burial. After some debate they consulted his 
 poems in haphazard manner, and found the 
 following verse, which settled all their doubts 
 respecting his faith. *' Do not keep back your 
 steps from saying funeral prayers (for the soul) of 
 Hafiz ; for, although he is immersed in sin, he is 
 going to heaven." It is also said that several 
 men of action were in the habit of having re- 
 course to these Sortes Hafiziana on questions that 
 they could not solve. Aurungzeb, the great Mogul 
 Emperor, was one. Indeed Nadir Shah never 
 undertook an expedition without consulting it. 
 While meditating an expedition against Taurus, 
 says Mirza Mehdi Khan, he opened the Diwdn 
 at the following verses : 
 
 Irak and Fars thou hast conquered with thy sweet verses 
 
 Hafiz ; 
 Come ! (now) is the turn of Bagdad and (the appointed 
 
 Jiour) of Tabriz, 
 
HAFIZ AS A PHILOSOPHER 25 
 
 How appropriate they were the succeeding 
 events showed ! 
 
 HXfiz as a Philosopher 
 
 As a philosopher Hafiz was an Intuitionist. 
 Naturally enough, religion had two aspects for 
 him — intellectual and moral, each leading to 
 the higher and truer conception of the Supreme 
 Being. The intellectual part of religion by the 
 pursuance of design in the universe and by having 
 recourse to the various ontological and teleo- 
 logical arguments, apprehends the Supreme Being 
 as the Supreme Intellect. The moral part of 
 it is not so easy to grasp, and therefore has given 
 rise to much useless speculation. The Supreme 
 Being here is represented as the Supreme Con- 
 science, whom men can hold communion with 
 through their own conscience. As there are hier- 
 archies in the moral world, the constant communion 
 with the Supreme Conscience may lead to the 
 attainment of the highest hierarchy. This is, in 
 short, one part of the doctrine of Sufiism, so 
 much misunderstood in the West. 
 
 No doubt it has given rise to certain language 
 intelligible only in the light of the Cartesian 
 doctrine of Dualism propounded by the great 
 Sufi Alghazali long before Descartes — that is to 
 say, the existence of mind and matter with the 
 pineal gland — with the ei^ddition of Malebranche's 
 
26 INTRODUCTION 
 
 doctrine of Occasionalism for Descartes' pineal 
 gland.* 
 
 There is yet another side to Sufiism. A Sufi 
 draws no distinction between himself and other 
 selves. The true good, for him, is the realisation 
 of self which pre-supposes the consideration of 
 others. He says : " God manifests Himself in us. 
 We are, in our very essential nature, the eternal 
 consciousness, reproduced under the limitation 
 of time and organism, but retaining the essential 
 character of being out of time as regards our 
 knowledge — as regards that in virtue of which 
 we are. The world, as a whole, only potentially 
 13. The potential contents of our consciousness 
 — knowledge — eternally exist as ideas which we 
 are labouring to attain unto." And as potential 
 contents are more and more attained to, we realise 
 that others are inseparable from us. Thus 
 the distinction between the pleasure of self 
 and the pleasure of not-self disappears. This 
 brings us face to face with the ethical doctrines 
 of Sidgwick and Green, and even offers a medium 
 of reconciliation between the materialistic con- 
 ception of the Cambridge philosopher and the 
 spiritualistic view of the Oxford thinker. 
 
 There has been a controversy over Hafiz's 
 being a Sufi. Those who take his verses in their 
 literal sense come to a very unfavourable con- 
 clusion about the poet ; but there is another 
 * See Appendix to Introduction, p. 69. 
 
HAFIZ AS A PHILOSOPHER 27 
 
 side to the shield. Before entering into the 
 question whether Hafiz was a Sufi it will be 
 better to mention in brief what Sufiism is. 
 The word ' Sufi ' has been variously derived : 
 
 From which meana 
 
 Suf wool. 
 
 Sufi . . . . . . woollen. 
 
 Safd . . . . . . purity. 
 
 Safd a statue near Mecca. 
 
 It is difficult to decide among the various 
 derivations. Professor Browne ^ seems to think 
 that "it is quite certain " that it is derived from 
 the word suf, '* wool," which is confirmed by 
 the equivalent pashmina-pushy " wool- wearers," 
 applied to these mystics in Persia, and regards 
 the derivation given by Jami in his Bahdristdn, 
 from Arabic safd, "purity," as fanciful. The 
 Sufis themselves regard it as derived from safd, 
 and ninety-nine out of every hundred spiritual 
 guides in the East adopt this derivation. 
 
 There are four theories as to the origin of 
 Sufiism. The first is that it represents the 
 " esoteric Islam." Jalaluddin Rumi favours this 
 idea and calls Ali the first Sufi. So do almost all 
 the Sufis one comes into contact with in the East. 
 
 The second theory * is that it represents a 
 
 * A Literary History of Persia, p. 417. 
 
 * Professor Browne's A Literary History of Persia, p. 41St 
 
28 INTRODUCTION 
 
 reaction of the Aryan mind against Islam, a 
 Semitic religion. But Professor Browne has con- 
 clusively shown that neither the Indian nor the 
 Persian theory of reaction is tenable. 
 
 The third theory is that it was due to the 
 Neo-Platonist influence. The chief argument in 
 support of this theory ^ is that three great Sufis, 
 Maroof-ul-Karkhi, Abu Sulayman al-Darani, and 
 Dhu'1-Nun al-Misri, flourished during the period 
 of seventy-five years commencing in the year 786 
 and ending in 861 a.d. During this period, it 
 is asserted, many works were translated from 
 the Greek which must have influenced them as 
 well as others. But the term " Sufi " was already 
 in use a considerable time before the year 786, 
 and Stifiism had attained to a recognised place. 
 Hence the theory of Neo-Platonist influence 
 cannot be maintained. 
 
 The fourth theory, of independent origin, seems 
 reasonable in the light of all facts regarding 
 Stifiism. It has been supported by eminent 
 authorities. 
 
 It will be better to quote from Ibn IChaldun, 
 the great historian, who proves beyond doubt 
 that Stifiism was of indigenous growth to Islam. 
 Speaking of Stifiism in his Muqaddima (vol. iii., 
 p. 467), he says : 
 
 " This is one of the religious sciences which 
 
 * Mr. A. R. Nicholson's Literary History of the Arabs, 
 p. 388, 
 
HAFIZ AS A PHILOSOPHER 29 
 
 were born in Islam. The way of the Sufis was 
 regarded by the ancient Moslems and their 
 illustrious men — the Companions of the Prophet 
 (Al'Sahaba), the followers (Al-Tabiin), and the 
 generation which came after them — as the way 
 of truth and salvation. To be painstaking in 
 piety, to give up everything for the sake of 
 God, to avoid worldly shows and vanities, to 
 renounce pleasure, wealth, and power, which 
 are the general objects of human ambition, to 
 abandon society and to lead in seclusion a life 
 solely dedicated to the service of God — these 
 were the fundamental principles of Sufiism 
 which prevailed among the Companions and 
 the Moslems who existed immediately after 
 Mohammad. When, however, in the second 
 generation and afterwards worldly tastes be- 
 came widely spread, and men no longer shrank 
 from contamination, those who made piety their 
 aim were singled out by the title of Sufi or 
 Motasawwdf,'^ 
 
 To attain to the sufiistic ends certain practices 
 have been prescribed. They consist of four 
 stages, and until the last stage is passed the 
 *' emancipated soul " cannot mix with the 
 "glorious essence," nor can it cast off the ** cor- 
 poreal veil." They are : 
 
 1. Shariyat — which consists in strict ob- 
 servance of the teachings of Islam. 
 
 2. TarikaL This means the following of 
 
30 INTRODUCTION 
 
 a spiritual guide who teaches the "hidden 
 practices." 
 
 3. MdrefaL — This stage is reached when 
 the real nature of the teachings of Moham- 
 mad is grasped, leading to the effacement in 
 Mohammad. And, 
 
 4. Hakikat, — This is the last stage, and 
 consists in recognition of the divine essence 
 and merging thereunto. 
 
 There are various orders of Sufis. There were 
 two original orders, viz. (1) Haloolia, i.e. the in- 
 spired, believing as they did that God had entered 
 into them, and (2) Ittahddid, i.e. the unionists, 
 who took God to have joined with every en- 
 lightened being. They said that God is the 
 flame and the soul the charcoal. The soul, by 
 union with God, becomes God. From these two 
 are derived the following orders of Sufis : 
 
 (a) The Wasdlid, i.e. the joined to God. 
 
 (b) The Osh-Shdhid, i.e. the lovers of God. 
 
 (c) The Talhinid, i.e. the instructed. 
 
 (d) The Zdkid, i.e. the penetrated. 
 
 (e) The Wdhedid, i.e. the solitary. 
 
 Without further detaining the reader over the 
 details of Sufiism, however interesting the subject 
 may be, we should mention the evidence that 
 Hafiz was a Sufi. In the first place, Jami, the 
 great Sufi and poet, says concerning Hafiz that 
 "from his verses, he should judge him to be a 
 Sufi of eminence.'' He calls Hafiz '' Lisdn ul- 
 
HAFIZ AS A PHILOSOPHER 31 
 
 ghaih " t.e. The Tongue of the Hidden, and 
 Tarjumdn ul-Israr, i.e. Interpreter of Mysteries. 
 
 In the next place, Dawlat Shah speaks of 
 Hafiz as a great Sufi and considers his verse as 
 possessing endless meanings in truth and divine 
 knowledge. Compared with his station among 
 the Sufis, his rank as a poet is much lower. He 
 was unequalled in his knowledge of the Quoran, 
 and remained unexcelled in the knowledge of 
 the " outward and the imvard." His religion 
 inspired him with pious thoughts, which bore 
 fruit in his love for the dervishes and Arifs. 
 
 Thirdly, there is the testimony of Charles 
 Stewart, who says : 
 
 " Hafiz was eminent for his purity ; passed 
 much of his time in solitude, devoting himself to 
 the service of God, and to reflecting on His divine 
 nature. By his countrymen he is classed among 
 the inspired and holy men ; and his works — held 
 as inferior only to the Quoran — are frequently 
 consulted by divines." 
 
 Lastly, the bulk of the Diwdn admits of a far 
 higher interpretation than any that could belong 
 to our mortal existence. It might have been 
 attributed to pure accident if a few of his poems 
 had borne that interpretation ; but the question 
 of accident is beyond consideration when the 
 bulk of the Diwdn can be so explained. It is 
 commonplace if taken literally ; subhme if 
 "truly interpreted. This shows a design and a 
 
32 INTRODUCTION 
 
 certain state of mind. It can only be the 
 mind of a Sufi from which can emanate such 
 strains. 
 
 For this purpose 'Havern," etc., must mean 
 ''place of worship"; ''wine," signifying love 
 of God ; " beloved," "God," or "Creator " ; and 
 the old man of the Magians and of the tavern, as 
 the "spiritual guide." 
 
 What doubt can there be, when Hafiz himself 
 says ?— 
 
 The meaning of this cup is the wine of eternity i 
 The meaning of this wine, we understand, is selflessness. 
 
 Saki-nama. 
 
 From my boyhood I had a liking for Hafiz, 
 and always entertained a desire to associate 
 my name with his. I had long contemplated 
 bringing out a complete translation of the 
 works of Hafiz ; but they would have been 
 too bulky. I have, therefore, adopted the sug- 
 gestion of my friends to bring out the works 
 in several volumes. The Eubd'iydt is the first 
 volume. I would consider my labours amply 
 rewarded if this little volume appeals to the 
 generous British Public, and supplies it with 
 something which would far remove it to a 
 world so unlike its own but in feeling and 
 thought. 
 
 A Ruba'i (pi. Ruba'iyat) consists of four 
 
THE EUBA'IYAT IN ENGLISH VERSE 33 
 
 verses, the last verse being the most important, 
 complete in itself. Each Ruba'i stands by 
 itself and explains the philosophy of life in its 
 own way. 
 
 There are altogether seventy Ruba'iyat of 
 Hafiz ; but some of them are supposed to be 
 of doubtful origin and therefore have been left 
 out. 
 
 The task of versifying from my translation of 
 the Rubd'iydt has been undertaken by Mr. L. 
 Cranmer-Byng. He has endeavoured, as far as 
 possible, to keep to the sense in each Ruba'i. 
 Below I give the literal translation, as well as 
 the verse-rendering, of several Ruba'iyat in order 
 that the reader may see for himself how Mr. 
 Cranmer-Byng has accomplished his difficult 
 task. 
 
 Literal translation of Ruba'i 620 : 
 
 When the rosebud flagon-emptier becomes {i.e. bears the 
 
 semblance of flagon upside down), 
 Narcissus for love of wine goblet-holder becomes. 
 Happy is the heart of that person who, like a bubble, 
 In the desire of wine a wanderer (who carries his house, 
 
 i.e. all he possesses, on his shoulders) becomes. 
 
 This corresponds to No. 1 of the Rubd'iydt, 
 which runs as follows : 
 
 When rosebuds into chaHces unroll 
 
 For love of wine Narcissus bears the bowl. 
 
34 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Ah ! happy he who learns the crimson lore, 
 And, wine's own Sufi, hberates his soul. 
 
 Although the last two lines do not quite ex- 
 press the outward meaning of the last two lines 
 of the Ruba'i, the inner meaning is the same. 
 The lines mean that the one who bids farewell to 
 his hearth and home, i,e, becomes a Sufi, is happy ; 
 and this idea is in eflEect expressed by the last 
 lines of the versification. 
 
 Again, take the Ruba'i No. 646 literally, 
 which, translated, runs : 
 
 Thine eye, of which the sorcery of Babil is the teacher, 
 O God ! that sorcery may not pass out of its (eye's) 
 
 memory ! 
 And that ear which put an earring into the ears of beauty 
 
 (itself) (i.e, enslaved it), 
 Its earring may be from the pearl of Hafiz's poetry ! 
 
 It corresponds to Ruba'i No. 15 : 
 
 Those eyes, that BabiFs sorcery hath taught. 
 Must all their sweet enchantment come to nought ? 
 And that small ear — Nay ! from the fadeless pearls 
 Of Hafiz's song her pendant shall be wrought. 
 
 It is evident that the qualifying adjective of 
 the ear as putting " an earring into the ear of 
 beauty itself," that is to say, beautiful, has been 
 expressed by the word '' small," the EngHsh 
 idea of a beautiful ear being its *'smallness." 
 
THE RUBA'IYAT IN ENGLISH VERSE 35 
 
 Or take again, literally, Ruba'i No. 633 : 
 
 No story of the light (beauty) of Chegil can be told ! 
 
 No tale of the burning heart (lover) can be told ! 
 
 Then is sorrow in my little heart, and the reason is that 
 
 there is not 
 A friend to whom the sorrows of the heart can be told. 
 
 In the versification it stands as No. 28 : 
 
 Who can recall the rosebud of Chegil ? 
 The story of the burning heart reveal ? 
 My heart is desolate, since friends are none 
 To whom my tale of sorrows can appeaL 
 
 Or take again, the Ruba'i 638 : 
 
 Thine eye, from which sorcery and deceit rain, 
 Beware ! From it the sword of battle rains. 
 Very soon thou becamest tired of thy companions, 
 Alas ! From thine heart — stone rains from it. 
 
 Lit Trans, 
 
 This corresponds to No. 29 of the versification : 
 
 Your eyes, where lies and magic play their part, 
 From whose false dusk the swords of battle start. 
 How soon they weary of my constant sight ! 
 Stones that were tears now strike me from your heart. 
 
 Or take the beautiful Ruba'i 634 : 
 
 The beauties of the world can be taken captive with go- 
 Their fruit can be happily tasted with gold. 
 
36 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Look at Narcissus, which is crown -possessor of the world ; 
 How it too droops its head to gold (narcissus has a golden 
 cup over its flower). Lit* Trans, 
 
 This is versified in No. 32 : 
 
 For gold the beauties of the world are wed ; 
 Their charms upon the merchants' mat they spread. 
 Even that sultan of the worlds of spring, 
 The proud Narcissus, droops a golden head. 
 
 Or take, once more, the Ruba'i 617 : 
 
 Manliness from the plucker of the door of Khaibar ask, 
 And the secret of generosity from Khawja Kambar (All's 
 
 slave) ask. 
 If thirsty of the grace of God in reality, you Hafiz are, 
 The fountain-head of that (grace) from the cup-bearer of 
 
 Kausar (Ali) ask. Lit, Trans. 
 
 It is versified in No. 53 : 
 
 Ask strength of him who plucked at Khaibar's door ; 
 The gift of giving from his slave implore. 
 O Hafiz, if for grace of God thou yearn, 
 Ask of the fount for wine of Kowsar's store. 
 
 Or take, lastly, the Ruba'i 623 : 
 
 Sit with the friend and the cup of wine, ask 
 A kiss from the lips of that cypress rose-bodied, ask 
 If the wounded wishes to be cured of the wound. 
 Tell him from the lancet of a surgeon, ask. 
 
 LU, Trans. 
 
A WORD OR TWO AS TO THE METRE 37 
 This corresponds to the versification, No. 57 : 
 
 Come, sit with love, and, while the wine-cup flows. 
 Enfold the cypress -form, the heart of rose ! 
 O wounded lover, seeking to be whole. 
 Ask Haj jam's lancet of the cure it knows. 
 
 A Word or Two as to the Metre 
 
 In Persian there is only one prescribed metre 
 for all Ruba'iyats originally taken from the 
 Arabic. A great deal of difficulty was experi- 
 enced in fixing upon the metre for the versifica- 
 tion. FitzGerald has adopted the only metre 
 which is suitable for quatrains. In this he was 
 by no means original. Hammer and Bicknell 
 had tried the metre consisting of ten syllables 
 in each line before. As Connington has well 
 said, there is a degree of metrical conformity 
 between the measure of the original and that of 
 the translation, and though there is no perfect 
 coincidence in this respect, it at least suggests 
 it. Alexandrines would have been still better, 
 and they have been used by Bodenstedt and 
 other German translators of Omar's Ruhd'iydt ; 
 but, as Mr. E. H. Winfield has pointed out, the 
 English language does not lend itself to this 
 harmony. This adoption would have made the 
 lines rather heavy in English. Therefore they 
 have been forsaken for their rival. 
 
38 INTRODUCTION 
 
 In conclusion, I desire to thank my friend, 
 Dr. S. A. Kapadia, joint editor of the ** Wisdom 
 of the East " Series, for several valuable hints 
 and suggestions, and various writers on Hafiz 
 whose works I have consulted. 
 
 ABDUL MAJID. 
 
 4, Harcouet Buildings, 
 Temple, E.G. 
 
RUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 When rosebuds into chalices unroll 
 For love of wine Narcissus bears the bowl. 
 Ah ! happy he who learns the crimson lore, 
 And, wine's own Sufi, liberates his soul. 
 
 2 
 
 Of that old wine some vanished Sultan grew 
 Give me, that I may paint life's scenes anew. 
 Oh make me heedless of the heedless world 
 That I may sing the world's desire to you. 
 
 Come, love and wine beside the river's brink ; 
 In every cup some shallow care we'll sink. 
 Life's span is but the rose's, ten dear days ; 
 Then chain the ten with laughter's golden link. 
 
40 RUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 lovers, you whose happy hands enlace, 
 For whom Time's wheel, forgotten, flies apace, 
 When my time cometh hail the endless round, 
 That other Aprils may recall my face. 
 
 Come thou, and bring me wine, the source of joy ; 
 Heed not the wiles that meaner foes employ. 
 Smooth is the speech of him who bids thee stay, 
 And sweet are words that sweeter lips decoy. 
 
 6 
 
 If, like us, you should fall into love's snare. 
 Wine, wine alone can free you from despair. 
 We are the world-consuming revellers ; 
 Sit not with us, lest none should speak you fair. 
 
 Youth is the tap that draws the wine most sweet. 
 Unhappy lover, drink and drown defeat ! 
 Creation rocks to ruin in the end, 
 Apd ruined lords their ruined halls complete, 
 
RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 41 
 
 8 
 
 Take not your lips from the tankard's brimming 
 
 lip, 
 Lest fame and fortune in a moment slip. 
 In the world-cup are sweet and bitter blent ; 
 One from love's mouth, one from the tankard sip. 
 
 9 
 
 A woman's smile, a lute to rouse the morn, 
 A nook, a heart unbound, a flagon drawn. 
 And when the red wine dances through my veins 
 From Hatim ^ I'll not beg a barley-corn. 
 
 10 
 
 My moon, in whose grave beauty day grows dim, 
 A fairer disk than Kowsar's ^ rounded rim. 
 Hath cast all hearts into her dimple's well. 
 And, sealed with amber, bade them sink or swim. 
 
 11 
 
 As, one by one, the garments from her glide 
 Behold a moon that hath no peer beside. 
 O flesh so frail that her red heart imbues ! 
 liike a red ruby stains the lucent tid^. 
 
42 EXJBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 12 
 
 Around her waist my hand unchided stole : 
 This much I gained, yet still desired the whole. 
 My arm had circled round the citadel, 
 And, still unmastered, she defied control. 
 
 13 
 
 I said " Ah ! pretty mole of my delight ! " 
 She answered, " O thou fond and foolish wight ! 
 No mole the mirror of my charm retains, 
 'Tis thy dark glance upon my beauty bright." 
 
 14. 
 
 Quoth I, '' Your lip ? " '' The fount of life ! " 
 she cried. 
 
 Quoth I, " Your mouth ? " *' 'Tis sugar, coral- 
 dyed ; " 
 
 Quoth I, " Your speech ? " " Ah, sweetly Hafiz 
 sang; 
 
 For each soft word some golden tongue is tied." 
 
 15 
 
 Those eyes that BabiPs * sorceries hath taught, 
 Must all their bright enchantments come to 
 
 nought ? 
 And that small ear — Nay ! from the fadeless 
 
 pearls 
 Of Hafiz' song her pendant shall be wrought. 
 
RUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 43 
 
 16 
 
 you, to whom the sun and moon have bowed 
 Upon your threshold's dust their foreheads proud, 
 Bid me not burn in expectation's fire ! 
 Nor seat me in the shadow of the cloud I 
 
 17 
 
 Think not to scorn the fierceness of a sigh. 
 
 From that which kindles flame may flames draw 
 nigh. 
 
 Oh be not heedless of the tears of night, 
 
 Or the dawn's grey sighs that 'neath your case- 
 ment die. 
 
 18 
 
 My heart makes room for grief — for grief of you. 
 By this dear grief my wounds shall heal anew. 
 The more you heap your vengeance on my heart. 
 The more tormented, she shall prove more true. 
 
 19 
 
 To-night I'll sleep in blood for all my pain ; 
 Without the bed of rest I shall remain. 
 Sweet, an you doubt me, send your wraith 
 
 dreams 
 To watch the night upon my torment wane. 
 
44 RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 20 
 
 She told me, "I am yours to have and hold. 
 Take heart ! let care by patience be controlled." 
 Ah, what is heart ? Some greybeard doth reply : 
 " The clot of blood a thousand cares enfold." 
 
 21 
 
 She gave me first the loving-cup to bind ; 
 The cup of cruelty she then assigned 
 And when, with soul and body burned, I fell 
 Dust at her feet — she gave me to the wind. 
 
 22 
 
 I was a beggar, of her love bereft ; ^^ 
 
 Salt rankles in the wound that parting left. 
 My heavy heart one day foretold the end ; 
 Then fell the sword, and our one life was cleft. 
 
 23 
 
 Sweet, you have moulded me to please the foe ; 
 I was like spring that now like autumn grow. 
 Once in your quiver still and straight I lay 
 Till passion, came and bent me like a bow, 
 
RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 45 
 
 24 
 
 Return ! my soul your wandering beauty seeks. 
 
 Return ! my heart her desolation speaks. 
 
 Oh, golden sunshine of your face reveal, 
 
 And burn the blinding tear-drops from my cheeks ! 
 
 25 
 
 In crowds I see no image save thine own, 
 My ways are centred in thy street alone ; 
 And though thou reignest, and the world hath 
 
 sleep, 
 No kiss of slumber my tired lids have known. 
 
 26 
 
 Alone I weep more tears than candles shed — 
 Tears like the twinkling flagon's rosy red ; 
 And, like the wine-cup, since the heart is full, 
 When the sad harp bewails my tears are bled. 
 
 27 
 
 Ah, love, for kisses long withheld I die ; 
 Your absent lips have slain me with a sigh. 
 A ruthless pen writes " Finis " to my tale. 
 Return ! for, while I wait, again I die. 
 
46 RUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 28 
 
 Who can recall the rosebud of Chegil ? • 
 The story of the burning heart reveal ? 
 My heart is desolate, since friends are none 
 To whom my tale of sorrows can appeal. 
 
 29 
 
 Your eyes, where lies and magic play their part, 
 From whose false dusk the swords of battle start. 
 How soon they weary of my constant sight ! 
 Stones that were tears now strike me from your 
 heart. 
 
 30 
 
 Each friend who spoke of constancy became 
 A foe, each lovely face a soiling flame. 
 They say, " The night is great with hidden things." 
 Since none beheld her, who hath shared her 
 shame ? 
 
 31 
 
 time of broken vows that none would mend ! 
 The bitter foe was once a faithful friend. 
 So to the skirts of solitude I cling, 
 Lest friendship lure me to an evil end. 
 
RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 47 
 
 32 
 
 For gold the beauties of the world are wed ; 
 Their charms upon the merchants' mat they 
 
 spread. 
 Even that sultan of the worlds of spring, 
 The proud Narcissus, droops a golden head. 
 
 33 
 
 How shall this golden tyranny abide ? 
 This breaking of a people's heart and pride ? 
 There is a bloodstained sword in broken hearts ; 
 Whom the red steel doth follow woe betide ! 
 
 34 
 
 When tyrants rule can gold redeem the earth ? 
 When sorrow haunts the home can joy have 
 
 birth ? 
 Not all the promised aeons of delight 
 These seven dull days of mortal care are worth. 
 
 35 
 
 son, withdraw your heart from faithless Time.* 
 Let Faith, her husband, be your friend sublime. 
 Be heartless, ere like me you vainly seek 
 To hold her mocking beauty with a rhyme. 
 
48 RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 36 
 
 Oh would that Fortune met me by the way, 
 That changing Time would grant me slow delay, 
 And when the reins fell from the hands of youth 
 That Age might prove the stirrup for my stay. 
 
 37 
 
 In vain pursuits the random years have flown ; 
 What gain is mine from summers overthrown ? 
 The friends of yore are numbered with my foes ; 
 The lilies fall, the roses all are blown. 
 
 38 
 
 Each day some greater grief my heart hath borne ; 
 Mine eyes are pierced by separation's thorn ; 
 And Destiny to all my plaint replies, 
 "Another load awaits another morn." 
 
 39 
 
 Yet what avails to foam with grief like wine ? 
 We may not cope with sorrows line on line. 
 Those young fresh lips divorce not from the cup : 
 Lips that are young make every draught divine. 
 
KUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 49 
 
 40 
 
 Seek not to compass vengeance for thy wrong, 
 But draw the sparkhng wine with mirth and song. 
 Take wit and wisdom to thy tent alone ; 
 Fools to the company of fools belong. 
 
 41 
 
 Better the whole world in a mortar bray, 
 Dip in the heart's blood as it ebbs away, 
 Or drag a hundred years of chains and gloom, 
 Than for one moment with a fool delay. 
 
 42 
 
 Cease, cease to sorrow for a world of sin ; 
 Forsake the world and all thou hast therein. 
 Go ! follow Love where wine-cups fire the gloom, 
 Where the red vintage swells the tawny skin. 
 
 43 
 
 A girl whose figure shamed the cypress tall 
 Let her bright beauty on a mirror fall. 
 I laid a kerchief at her feet. She smiled, 
 ''What happy thought of union holds you thrall ? ' 
 
 4 
 
50 RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 44 
 
 Methinks I hear joy beating with his wings ; 
 The perfume of passionate roses round me clings. 
 The wind has caught a story from her mouth, 
 Oh rare and wondrous is the tale he brings ! 
 
 45 
 
 Return ! return ! thou many- voiced gale ! 
 Warm with my burning, her young heart assail ; 
 Lest she be angered, sing to her alone ; 
 Yet in the midst of maidens tell my tale. 
 
 46 
 
 Whence did the tangles-^of your hair arise ? 
 And the dreams that haunt the shadows of your 
 
 eyes ? 
 Since none have shaken petals on your path 
 Oh whence the attar that around you lies ? 
 
 47 
 
 The jasmine blooms in the shadow of your hair ! 
 Lips beyond price, since Aden's pearls lie there, 
 Like you, the soul is ever wine-inspired ; 
 The wine's bright soul shines through a form as 
 fair. 
 
KUBA'IYAT OF HAFIZ 51 
 
 48 
 
 Roselit, my tears like her twin roses show. 
 
 My heart's red blood through aching eyes doth 
 
 flow 
 She asked me, seeking for a fair reply : 
 " Why do thine eyes like lakes in twilight glow ? " 
 
 49 
 
 great of soul ! How gladly would I give 
 All that I am to thee by whom I live ! 
 If thou wouldst know the bitterness of hell, 
 Pour friendship's water through an empty sieve. 
 
 50 
 
 Sweet lips soon break the promise they proclaim 
 God's lovers never keep them from the flame : 
 If the beloved yield to your desire, 
 Yielding, she writes the record of your fame. 
 
 51 
 
 I clung to the beloved's locks with tears ; 
 I said, " Be thou physician of my fears ? " 
 She answered : " Take me ! let my tresses go ! 
 Cling light to pleasure, not to length of years ! 
 
52 RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 52 
 
 " 'Twere folly to thyself to be more kind, 
 Or from Creation call thyself to mind. 
 Learn wisdom from the pupil of the eye 
 That looks on all men yet to self is blind. 
 
 53 
 
 " Ask strength of him who plucked at KLhaibar's • 
 
 door ; 
 The gift of giving from his slave implore. 
 O Hafiz, if for grace of God thou yearn^ 
 Ask of the fount for wine of Kowsar's store ; 
 
 54 
 
 ** Then, long as stands the heavenly decree. 
 The wind shall tell the youngest rose of thee : 
 The cup that lights the hand of Taktamun ^ 
 Drink, and thou shalt be love's immortally. 
 
 55 
 
 " Around Life's keep the rodent waters roar ; 
 The measure of our years is brimming o'er. 
 Soon, soon, O friend, the janitor of Time 
 Shall cast Life's chattels through the broken door, 
 
RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 53 
 
 56 
 
 *' We hope for all things from the sky's caress, 
 Yet tremble as the leaf when days grow less. 
 You said no colour beyond black abides ; 
 Then why the snows upon the raven tress ? 
 
 57 
 
 Come, sit with love, and, while the wine-cup flows 
 Enfold the cjrpress-form, the heart of rose ! 
 O wounded lover, seeking to be whole. 
 Ask Hajjam's * lancet of the cure it knows.'* 
 
 68 
 
 That night we wrought love's miracJe again : 
 For one brief gloom one soul was born of twain. 
 Now death shall weary at the springs of youth 
 By singing waters that he sealed in vain. 
 
 59 
 
 The Sultan's friend, known by the least to fame, 
 Giver of golden words that all acclaim. 
 Who goes from Shiraz unto Samarcand 
 Tha.t Hadji IJafiz thrills not with his name ? 
 
54 RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 
 
 60 
 
 O thou great Almoner of human need, 
 Who solvest all, dispensing blame and meed, 
 Why should I bare my secret heart to thee, 
 Since all my hidden secrets thou canst read ? 
 
 61 
 
 The rosebud hides herself for shame of Thee ! 
 Nor drowsed Narcissus dare to look on Thee : 
 How can the rose her sovereignty proclaim ? 
 Her light is of the moon, the moon 's from Thee. 
 
 ^ 62 
 
 Blame not my tears for the secret they confessed ; 
 Deal gently with a heart that cannot rest ! 
 O Sufi ! since thou knowest his desire, 
 Scorn not the wanderer for the lifelong quest ! 
 
 63 
 
 One that should dwell in squalor for a space 
 Of former pride will not retain a trace ; 
 But some poor stranger in a foreign land 
 Sighs and remembers still his native placet 
 
RUBAIYAT OF HAFIZ 55 
 
 64 
 
 The way to Thee lies over grief and pain : 
 The soul gropes on, the darkness doth remain. 
 We only look upon the perfect face 
 When the lamp failing, shows the quest is vain. 
 
 65 
 
 Till the desire of love be gratified, 
 Till the body's kingdom without king abide, 
 My hope is ever of the Court of God, 
 That all the gates of joy be open wide 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTES (RUBA'IYAT) 
 
 1 Hdtim was the most generous man of his time. His 
 name is proverbial for generosity in the East and has been 
 so used by many poets. 
 
 2 Kowsar is a spring in Paradise. Its water is as white 
 as milk and as sweet as honey. It is mentioned in the 
 Quoran. 
 
 ^ At the time of David the angels, getting jealous of 
 favours shown to mankind by God, complained of the wicked- 
 ness of man. 
 
 To the angels God said : 
 
 *' In mankind, passion and lust are the cause of sin. If 
 these possessed you — as they do — you would also do." 
 
 The angel replied : 
 
 ** This would never be." 
 
 God selected two angels of the highest order named Harut 
 and Marut, and gave them the same feelings as characterised 
 man. They were let down at Babylon. The greatest name 
 of God (Isme-Azam) was taught to them, by mention of 
 which they could go up whenever they pleased. 
 
 There was a beautiful woman, named Zohra, who sought 
 after the Isme-Azam, the greatest name of God, and in order 
 to know it she used to pay a visit to every saint who made 
 his appearance in Babylon. Having heard of these angels 
 as saints, she paid a visit to them. As ill luck will have it, 
 they fell in love with her, went to her house, drank wine, 
 worshipped her idol, slew her husband, and, worst of all, 
 taught her Isme-Azam, the greatest name of God, Zohrg, 
 
 07 
 
58 EXPLANATORY NOTES (RUBAIYAT) 
 
 repeated the greatest name of God and at once ascended to 
 heaven, and she is now regarded as Venus. The angels 
 were condemned, confined in a well, chained upside down, and 
 now they pass their time in teaching sorcery. It is for this 
 reason that the well of Babil is noted for its sorcery. 
 
 ^ GhegiL (1) A district in Tartary famous for the beauty 
 of its inhabitants ; or, (2) a fire temple wherein the att-endants 
 held " lamps of Chegil.'* 
 
 " Unlike English poets Hafiz personifies Time as feminine 
 and Faith as masculine. 
 
 ^ Khaibar was a stronghold of the Jews near Medina. 
 In 630 Mohammad took the place, the gates being removed 
 by Ali, the fourth Caliph, and used as shields. 
 
 ^ Taktamun was the cup-bearer of Shah Shuja. 
 
 * Hajjdm means a surgeon. 
 
APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION 
 
 The human brain has everything dupKcate 
 excepting the pineal gland. This led Descartes 
 to think that the interchange of energies between 
 mind and matter, two heterogeneous entities, 
 was possible through it. 
 
 Malebranche did away with the idea of pineal 
 gland and in its place added that God, on every 
 occasion when an interchange of energies between 
 these two entities was required, intervened. 
 This is called the doctrine of Occasionalism. 
 When the Sufi says that nothing is possible with- 
 out God this is the underlying philosophical 
 principle. Al-Ghazali had expressed the pre- 
 ceding views long before they were thought out 
 in Europe. 
 
 Unlike Locke, who reduces everything to 
 matter, Berkeley reduces everything to ideas. 
 There are schools of Sufis who adopt the views 
 which coincide with the doctrines of Locke and 
 of Berkeley. They are called Ahl-ul-Mojassaim 
 and Ahl-ul Moshabhia respectively. 
 
 The theory of Monads of Leibnit?^ is that 
 
60 APPENDIX TO INTRODUCTION 
 
 everything is like a mirror and reflects the rest 
 of the world in the degree of its development. 
 The Sufis adopt this notion when they claim the 
 knowledge of the whole world at one glance, 
 and the knowledge of the individual Sufi is of the 
 same stage as he has attained to in the scale of 
 Sufiism. 
 
 Kant says that it is only perceptions which are 
 supplied by the various organs of the senses ; but 
 the form which is the outcome of the combination 
 of all these various perceptions is supplied by the 
 mind. The Sufi adopts this view when he says 
 that everything is pure self ; that is to saj^ every 
 form which one perceives is caused by the mind 
 and therefore from self. 
 
 Pxinttd by JfazeU, Watson <fc Fingy, l;d., London and Aylfibury^ 
 
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