Dear Ali,
That is the clearest statement I've ever read on this or any other
List!!
God bless you, my brother,
Frank
***************
Frank Parker
[log in to unmask]
http://now.at/frankshome
----- Original Message -----
From: "ALI ALIZADEH" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 13, 2001 10:12 AM
Subject: Hafiz
> thank you Frank and Douglas for your appreciation of Hafiz.
>
> I just turned my room upside down looking for my Hafiz, but couldn't
find it. once
> i've found it, i'll dig out some lines and translate them for yous. to
my knowledge,
> Paul Smith has provided the most thorough English versions of the
ghasels and
> masnavis(New Humanity Books, Melbourne)even though they lean more
towards imitations
> ala Lowell than literal translations. one good Hafiz site is:
>
> http://www.hafizonlove.com/
>
> although Hafiz is the most popular poet amongst sufis, Rumi is
generally held in
> higher steam. i've had many arguments with my mum on this one. Hafiz's
down to earth
> lyrics, his use of real-life symbolism - the taverns, barmaids
(wine-bringers),
> names of real locations and references to history - speak directly to
my senses
> where as Rumi seems a bit too smart and refined for his own good;
however, the older
> i get, the more i see in Rumi. both poets are, nevertheless,
passionate advocates of
> universal bonding and eternal compassion; and love that transcends and
evolves.
>
> whilst sufisim has been seen as an offshoot of islam, in practice it
has been
> excluded from the mosques and all the official religious teachings.
Hafiz was,
> indeed, a drinker and, so the story goes, more interested in women -
such as the
> beautiful Shakh-eh Nabat (Branch of Sugar) and, later, his wife - than
the
> established islamic orders. what saved his arse was his huge
popularity and his
> incredible celebrity status. after his death, the islamic rulers of
Shiraz denied
> him a burial in the city since Hafiz had made a lousy muslim, and had
abandoned
> theology when younger - possibly because of the fear of being
persecuted by the
> orthodox muslisms who disagreed with his mysticism. Mystics are a
danger to
> religions, or so I read somewhere in the context of Joan of Arc's
burning. either
> way, people of Shiraz, who saw Hafiz as their voice, took to the
streets until the
> authorities gave up and the poet was buried in his favourite garden at
the heart of
> the city.
>
> my grandma, a true dervish unlike pretenders like me or my mum, used
to recite us
> Hafiz when we were hiding in the bomb-shelters during the Iraqi
bombings of Tehran.
> perhaps, and I hope, his words can provide for the horrified Americans
what they
> granted us back then; the gift and the cup, beyond the vaults of
hatred and (I fear)
> impending war and genocide.
>
> goodnight.
>
> Ali
>
|