H膩fez (丨丕賮馗) (Khw膩ja Shams-ud-D墨n Mu岣mmad 岣つ乫e岷�-e Sh墨r膩z墨) was a Persian poet whose collected works (The Divan) are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature and are to be found in the homes of most people in Iran, who learn his poems by heart and still use them as proverbs and sayings.
His life and poems have been the subject of much analysis, commentary and interpretation, influencing post-14th century Persian writing more than any other author
Themes of his ghazals are the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy. His influence in the lives of Persian speakers can be found in "Hafez readings" (f膩l-e h膩fez, Persian: 賮丕賱 丨丕賮馗鈥庘€�) and the frequent use of his poems in Persian traditional music, visual art, and Persian calligraphy. His tomb is visited often. Adaptations, imitations and translations of his poems exist in all major languages.
Though Hafez is well known for his poetry, he is less commonly recognized for his intellectual and political contributions. A defining feature of Hafez' poetry is its ironic tone and the theme of hypocrisy, widely believed to be a critique of the religious and ruling establishments of the time. Persian satire developed during the 14th century, within the courts of the Mongol Period. In this period, Hafez and other notable early satirists, such as Ubayd Zakani, produced a body of work that has since become a template for the use of satire as a political device. Many of his critiques are believed to be targeted at the rule of Amir Mobarez Al-Din Mohammad, specifically, towards the disintegration of important public and private institutions. He was a Sufi Muslim.
His work, particularly his imaginative references to monasteries, convents, Shahneh, and muhtasib, ignored the religious taboos of his period, and he found humor in some of his society's religious doctrines. Employing humor polemically has since become a common practice in Iranian public discourse and persian satire is now perhaps the de facto language of Iranian social commentary.
If that Bold One of Shiraz gain our heart, For His dark mole, I will give Samarkand and Bukhara. Said! give the wine remaining; for, in Paradise, thou wilt not have The bank of the water of the Ruknabad nor the rose of the garden of Musalla. Alas! These saucy dainty ones sweet of work, the torment of the city, Take patience from the heart even as the men of Turkistan the tray of plunder. The beauty of the Beloved is in no need of our imperfect love: Of lustre, and color, and mole and tricked line, what need hath the lovely face? By reason of that beauty, daily increasing that Yusof had, I know That Love for Him would bring Zulaikha forth from the screen of chastity. Thou spakest ill of me; and I am happy. God Most High forgive thee thou spakest well: The bitter reply suiteth the ruby lip, sugar-eating. O Soul! Hear the counsel, for, dearer than the soul, Hold happy youths the counsel of the wise old man. The tale of minstrel and of wine utter; little seek the mystery of time; For this mystery, none solved by skill; and shall not solve. Thou utteredest a ghazal; and threadedest pearls. Hafez! come and sweetly sing That, on thy verse, the sky may scatter the cluster of the Pleiades.