Kako neuslišana ljubezen je spremenila mladega Hafiza, da postal je ne samo eden največjih pesnikov vseh časov, ampak tudi duhovni učitelj, kjer nas preko poezije še vedno uči in nam hkrati služi kakor orakelj, razkriva zgodba, ki postala je legenda, legenda o prelepem dekletu in poetu.
(Slovenian above | English below)
Natančen datum rojstva Ḫāǧe Šams ad-Dīn Moḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Šīrāzī ni znan, pravijo, da je rojen okrog leta 1325 v Širazu v današnjem Iranu. Kot najstnik je znal celoten Koran na pamet in tako dobil naziv Hafis, ker je postal tudi njegov umetniški naziv. Imel je dva starejša brata, vendar ko mu je oče umrl so dolgovi padli na Hafisa in njegovo mamo, zaradi česar sta se preselila k stricu. Hafis je pustil šolo in pričel z delom, med drugim tudi v pekarni, kjer je razvažal kruh in tako srečal prelepo Shakh-e Nabat, hči premožnega trgovca, v katero se je globoko zaljubil. Hafis se je kasneje poročil in imel enega otroka, a lepota neuslišane ljubezni Shakh-e Nabat je tista, ki rodila je legendo in zaradi česar Hafis je postal ne samo eden največjih pesnikov vseh časov, ampak tudi duhovni učitelj.
I wish I could show you when
you are lonely or in darkness
the astonishing light of
your own being.
~ Hafiz ~
Legenda pravi, da je Hafis prihajal iz revne družine in ko je bil star 20 let, je delal kot pomočnik v pekarni. Nekega dne, ko je razvažal kruh svojim strankam ga je pot pripeljala do gradu, kjer je živel premožen aristokrat (po drugih pripovedih, bogat trgovec). Tam je Hafis ugledal hčer tega premožnega človeka Shakh-e Nabat in očaran nad njeno lepoto, se popolnoma je zaljubil. Močno zaljubljen se ji ni mogel niti približati, kaj je šele govoriti z njo, zaradi razlik v družbenem razredu. In tako začel je pisati poezijo, da izrazi to ljubezen do nje. Kmalu so njegove pesmi zaokrožile po mestu in ljudje so recitirali njegovo ljubezensko poezijo.
Pa vendar Hafis je kmalu spoznal, da je nemogoče spoznati to dekle, ne samo zaradi družbenih razlik, ampak tudi zaradi fizičnega izgleda, bil je namreč majhen in grd. Ko je zvedel, da se bo dekle poročilo s Širazkim princem, je žaloval in v tem iskal način, kako naj pridobi njeno ljubezen. Tako se je spomnil na legendo Sufijskega poeta in svetnika Baba Kuhina, ki je bil pokopan malo izven Širaza na hribu imenovanem Zeleni starec. Po tej legendi naj bi Baba Kuhi tik, preden je umrl obljubil, da kdorkoli bo ob njegovem grobu prebedel 40 zaporednih noči, bo dobil dar poezije, nesmrtnost in to po čemer njegovo srce hrepeni.
Tako se je mlad Hafis odločil, da je to rešitev njegovih tegob in da bo na tak način pridobil ljubezen dekleta, po kateri je hrepenel. Štirideset dni je preko dneva delal v pekarni in razvažal kruh, ponoči pa bedel ob grobu svetnika. Ob koncu štiridesete noči se mu je v vsej svoji lepoti prikazal nadangel Gabriel rekoč: »Kaj si želiš?« Očaran nad veličastnostjo in sijajem nadangela Gabriela se je vprašal, le kako veličasten mora biti Bog, in še preden se je zavedal, da je tukaj zaradi hrepenenja po ljubezni dekleta, ki ga je očaralo s svojo lepoto, so iz njegovih ust prišle besede: »Hočem Boga.« Nadangel Gabriel ga je napotil k Sufi učitelju Attarju katerega slednik je Hafis postal. Nadaljeval je s pisanjem poezije, ki so sedaj opevale ljubezen do Boga.
V tistem času so Sufiji bili deležni raznih napadov, pregonov, izgonov in Hafis v tem pogledu ni bil izjema. In tako je na dan njegove smrti 1388 ali 1398 v Širazu prišlo do konflikta, saj so ortodoksni verski privrženci hoteli Hafisu preprečiti verski pogreb. In da bi ta spor razrešili, so na predlog Hafizovih prijateljev uporabili njegovo poezijo kot orakelj, pri čemer so se oboji strinjali, in sicer kateri koli verz bo naključno izžreban, da se bosta tega obe strani držali. Raztrgali so hafisove pesmi v verze, jih položili v veliki vrč in iz množice poklicali nekega dečka, da iz vrča izvleče verz. Izžreban je bil slednji verz, ki pravi:
Niti Hafizovo truplo, niti njegovo življenje ne zanikata,
da pri vseh njegovih hudodelstvih, nebesa čakajo nanj.
In tako se vse do danes Hafisova poezija uporablja tudi kot orakelj in nam daje notranje vodstvo ter odgovore na vprašanja. In če želiš poezijo, klikni na HAFIZ DIVAN.
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(English)
Poet and spiritual teacher Hafiz left as his legacy not only as beautiful poetry that is alive but also spiritual teaching inside of that poem that can also serve as Oracle. And here is a story of how one unfulfilled love changed young poets to become not only the spiritual teacher but one of the greatest poets of all times. Hafiz.
Khajeh Shamseddin Mohammad Hafiz-s Shirazi known as poet Hafiz or Hafez was born around 1325 in Shiraz, in South-central Iran. As a teenager, he learned Koran and was given a title Hafiz as it was given to those who had memorized the Koran by heart. He had two older brothers and when he was a child his father who was a coal merchant died, leaving him and his mother with much debt. Hafiz and his mother went to live with his uncle and he left day school to work in a drapery shop and later in a bakery. While still working at the bakery, Hafiz delivered bread to a wealthy quarter of town and saw Shakh-e Nabat, a young woman of incredible beauty. Many of his poems are addressed to Shakh-e Nabat. Although Hafiz was married in his twenties and had one child, he continued his love for Shakh-e Nabat, as the manifest symbol of her Creator’s beauty. And from this love story legend come.
The legend says that Hafiz was about 20 years old and from a poor background when he was working in a backer’s shop as an assistant. Every morning he would have to deliver bread to different households and one day he delivered bread to a big mansion of a wealthy aristocrat (or wealthy merchant)t and he saw the young girl Shakh-e Nabat, the daughter of this man. She was extremely beautiful and extremely refined and he madly fell in love with her. Although he couldn’t even talk to her because of the social position, he fell deeply in love with this beautiful unattainable girl and he started writing poems, love poems to her. He turned out poems one after another and poems become known and quickly spread throughout the city where he lived and people would recite his love poems.
At that point, he also realized that it was impossible for him to even meet this girl because not only his social class were far below hers but he was also short and ugly. When the young Hafiz was in mourning not because of his look and social status but because the young woman he loved was to marry the prince of Shiraz, he remembered the famous promise of Baba Kuhi, Sufi poet and saint, who was buried just outside of Shiraz, on a hill called “the green old man” (Pir-i-sabz). It is said that just before Baba Kuhi died, he made a famous promise that if anyone could stay awake for forty consecutive nights at his tomb that person would be granted the gift of poetry, immortality, and his heart’s desire.
So young Hafiz decided that that was the best solution for him to obtain the love of this girl. And so during the day he worked in the baker’s shop and delivering bread and at night he stayed awake of the sight by the grave to this saint. And the last night, the 40th night towards the end of that night the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him in great splendor and said: »What is it that you want?« And he looked at the archangel and was so amazed by the radiance of that being he thought if that is the archangel what is God-like. Although all that was done because he wanted the love of that girl, and without even knowing it what came out of his mouth he said, »I want God.« Archangel Gabriel said then go to Sufi Master Attar. So he went the next day and became a disciple of Sufi teacher Attar. He was still writing poems, but now they were poems to God.
At that time orthodox clergy opposed Sufi teaching and many times Sufis were attacked, exiled, or killed and Hafiz was no exception. And when he died in late 1388 or early 1389 in Shiraz, orthodox clergy who always opposed Hafiz, refused to allow him to have a religious burial and that created an atmosphere of conflict. To resolve the controversy, they decided to use Hafiz’s poetry, by dividing his ghazals into couplets and asking a young boy to draw a couplet. It was agreed that however, the couplet directed them, they would all consent to follow. The couplet that was chosen was verse 7 of Ghazal #79, which was a tongue-in-cheek response from Hafiz to the orthodox clergy. It reads:
Neither Hafiz’s corpse, nor his life negate,
With all his misdeeds, heavens for him wait.
قدم دریغ مدار از جـنازه حافـظ
که گر چه غرق گناه است میرود به بهشت
To this day, Hafiz’s Divan (Poetry) is utilized as an Oracle to give guidance to our questions, and direction to realize our wishes. And if you want to read it, click on HAFIZ DIVAN.
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Almira Ćatović 