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Hafiz, for sure, remains one of the undisputed literary icons of all times. Having spent his adult life in the 14th century, however, he was not the lone genius around, as he was weaving his poetic magic at a time that was sandwiched between Italian Dante's Inferno, and The Canterbury Tales by Englishman Geoffrey Chaucer. Closer to home, Amir Khusrau was at his peak in India when a young Hafiz was taking his initial, but firm steps towards greatness. It was surely an era of literary giants.
Born in 1319 in the city of Shiraz, Hafiz earned his title when he memorised the Holy Quran by simply listening to his father's recitations. His artistic talent got a boost when he read Saadi whom he considered his hero, as well as works by the likes of Attar and Rumi.
Hafiz grew up in an age when the finest Arabic literature had already been written and when Persian poetry had reached the zenith of its romantic era. As he set out to wield his magic, Hafiz, with his religious background, had a heavy undertone of Sufi thought. As a teacher of Quranic exegesis and studies, Hafiz composed wonderfully sensitive and lyrical poetry, but, in the process, also earned the condemnation of the religious puritans.
According to legend, the orthodox clergy was so opposed to Hafiz that it refused to allow him to have a Muslim burial when he died at the age of 70 in 1389. However, there was no dearth of those who loved him with matching intensity and that created an atmosphere of conflict. To resolve the controversy, the two sides decided to use Hafiz's poetry. His entire collection of ghazals was divided into couplets, and a young boy was asked to draw one from the lot. It was agreed that whichever way the couplet directed them, they would all follow the path.
The couplet that was picked up by the said boy was a typically-Hafiz response to the orthodox. It read
“Neither Hafiz's corpse, nor his life negate,
With all his misdeeds, heavens for him wait.”
Even today, people use Deevan-e-Hafiz as a sort of oracle to seek guidance and direction to life's various riddles. The authenticity of the act and indeed of the episode itself is a matter of conjecture for immediately after his death, a number of stories got woven around his life; some of them being of mythical proportions.
Hafiz left more than 500 poetic compositions that he had written over a period of 50 years. He only composed when he was 'divinely inspired', and therefore averaged only about 10 per year. He did not compile his poetry which was done first by Mohammad Golandaam some two decades later, and then by Sayyid Kasim Anvar who was a young Hafiz disciple.
Hafiz has been translated in a number of languages over the years, and Urdu is no exception. Lisa'nul Ghaib, by Mir Waliullah Adeeb, is arguably the most authentic of the lot in Urdu. First published in 1916, the book was praised to the skies by the likes of Allama Iqbal and Patras Bukhari, and that should be credible enough for anyone interested in having a feel of what Hafiz is about.
The book was well received when it first hit the stands, and a total of four editions were brought out in relatively quick time. The fifth edition was brought out recently after a lapse of more than seven decades; confirming, if ever a confirmation was needed, that the magic of Hafiz Shirazi is still alive.
