When Hafiz was once asked: Who is a poet?, he replied: A poet is someone who is capable of pouring light into a glass, then raising it and quenching your beautiful dry, sacred mouth.
Iranian poet Shamsuddin Muhammad (around 1320 – 1389), better known by his nickname, Hafiz, which in Arabic means the one who knows all the verses of the Quran by heart. In addition to the Quran, from a young age he became familiar with and inspired by the poetry of great poet-mystics: Saadi, Rumi, Attar of Nishapur…
Hafiz’s father dies early, and as a boy he starts working to be able to afford education. While delivering bread, he falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family, promised to someone else. Enamored, Hafiz writes her love poems. However, since she remains unattainable to him, he decides to spend forty nights by the grave of a saint, because according to legend, this act will grant the wish of one who persists. The legend says that on the eve of the fortieth night, an angel appears before Hafiz, and the poet, upon seeing him in all his beauty, forgets about his own predicament. Earthly love and embarks on a quest for the divine one.
He acquires a classical education based on philosophy, linguistics, literature, mysticism, and religion. He meets a teacher from Shiraz, Muhammad Atar, who is then known as a perfume merchant. Atar recognizes Hafiz’s poetic gift and guides him in his search for the sublime. Over the next four decades, empowered by his teacher’s faith, patience, and his own perseverance, Hafiz transforms his own insights into verses that advise and inspire the reader to join him in the search.
His verses are simple and deep, imbued with a power that can reach everyone’s heart. Between the lines, the verses conceal secrets about the meaning of human life. They address the human as part of the universe and a creation of God. Hafiz teaches that the sublime, God, and the great truths of life cannot be understood with the mind but with the heart and devotion. He often reproached himself when he failed to inspire a friend to follow the same path. From the five hundred gazelles, it is not easy to choose the ones. se pjesmu.
Hafizove snage i duhovno nasljeđe nastavljaju živjeti kroz njegova djela, koja najvjernije predstavljaju njegova stremljenja i stanja duše. Nakon njegove smrti, podignut je mauzolej Hafezieh u Širazu, okružen ružičnjakom, kanalima s vodom i stablima naranči. Sadašnji mauzolej zamijenio je prethodni spomenik, a njegovu izgradnju je nadzirao francuski arheolog i arhitekt André Godard krajem 1930-ih.
Zašto bi nosio teret?
Hafize,
Zašto bi nosio teret knjiga
Na leđima
Dok se penješ na ovu planinu,
Kad će večeras
Samo nekoliko misli o Bogu
Raspaliti sveti plamen.
Netko bi se trebao početi smijati
Imam tisuće sjajnih laži
Za pitanje
Kako si?
Imam tisuće sjajnih laži
Za pitanje
Što je Bog?
Ako vjeruješ da se Istina može spoznati
Iz riječi,
Ako misliš da Sunce i Ocean
Mogu proći kroz tu malu rupu
Zvanu usta,
Onda se netko treba početi smijati!
Netko se treba početi nekontrolirano smijati.
Tišina
Jedan dan Tišine
Može sam po sebi biti odlazak na hodočašće.
Dan Tišine
Može ti pomoći čuti
Kako Duša svira
Svoju čudesnu pjesmu.
Now loudly and with drums.
Is not the greatest part of speech
A foolish defense of a crumbling fortress?
I sensed that we came here
To surrender in Silence,
To surrender to Light and Happiness,
To dance from within
Celebrating the Victory of Love!
Burning tulip
Once, from my grave will grow
Countless red tulips.
And they will burn with a crimson flame.
Do not be surprised by this, oh most beautiful one,
Remember how great was the powerful fire
Of love dedicated to you
That once burned inside a living man.
When even in death it still blazes.
I have decided
Dear world, I have firmly decided
That on my deathbed
I shall not regret
Not having loved you enough.
Every movement
“No” rarely crosses my lips,
For my soul fully understands
That God has loudly shouted “Yes! Yes! Yes!”
With every radiant movement in Existence.
Fragment of songs
***
On the path of love, I tried with logic and reason,
But it was like the dew’s desire to leave its mark on the ocean.
***
Begin to experience everything as God
But keep it a secret.
***
The only thing that matters to a normal person is
To give Love!
***
I wish I could show you,
When you’re lonely or in the dark,
The amazing Light
Of your own Being!
***
The mentioned poems were taken from free translations of the poet Daniel Ladinsky’s books Love Poems and I Heard God Laughing and adapted into Croatian language for the needs of the magazine.
1 Gazelle is a type of short lyrical poem with love theme directed towards a woman, friend or God.
Edited by: Dragan Savović