Hafiz: The Scent of Light

by Hafez

In modern day Persia, the 14thcentury poet Hafiz remains the most treasured voice of his homeland-a place where his work outsells Rumi, and even the Koran. Yet only recently have Westerners come to know this wild Sufi mystic's astonishing verses on love and spiritual longing. Now, with Hafiz: The Scent of Light, listeners join Daniel Ladinsky-the acclaimed translator of The Gift-to revel in more than 30 of Hafiz' most stirring works. Offered here in the manner that Hafiz composed them, spoken or sung spontaneously amid companions and inspired music, each of these exquisite love songs (ghazals) shimmers with a nuance, depth, and passion rarely captured in previous translations. Music by Stevin McNamara and friends. Read by Nataraja Kallio.

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook, Literature, Spirituality

Paperback

First published March 1, 2002

About the author

Hāfez (حافظ) (Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzī) 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" (fāl-e hāfez, Persian: فال حافظ‎‎) 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.


شمس الدین محمد، حافظ شیرازی، ملقب به حافظ و لسان الغیب
مشهورترین و محبوبترین شاعر تاریخ زبان فارسی و ادبیات ایران
حوالی سال ۷۲۶ هجری قمری در شیراز متولد شد. علوم و فنون را در محفل درس برترین استادان زمان فراگرفت و در علوم ادبی عصر پایه‌ای رفیع یافت. خاصه در علوم فقهی و الهی تأمل بسیار کرد و قرآن را با چهارده روایت مختلف از برداشت. پژوهشگران احتمال می‌دهند همین دلیل باعث شده لقب او حافظ شود. حافظ مسلمان و شیعه مذهب بود و در وادی سلوک و طریقت، عرفان خاص خود را داشت. دیوان اشعار او شامل غزلیات، چند قصیده، چند مثنوی، قطعات و رباعیات است. اما در شعر آنچه بیش از همه او را دست نیافتنی کرده است غزل‌های حافظ است. حافظ در سال ۷۹۲ هجری قمری در شیراز درگذشت. آرامگاه او در حافظیهٔ شیراز زیارتگاه صاحبنظران و عاشقان شعر و ادب پارسی است. او همواره و
همچنان برای ادبیات پس از خود الهام‌بخش و تاثیرگذار بوده است

شعرِ حافظ در زمان آدم اندر باغ خُلد
دفترِ نسرین و گُل را زینتِ اوراق بود

Reviews

[Mommalibrarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...

What editor allows this man to publish his own poetry as though it was a translation of a famous poet whose language the author does not even know?

[hal · Rating 1 out of 5]

I almost never listen to audiobooks and now I know why. This narrator’s voice KILLED me. Annoyed the shit out of me, it was very breathy and came across as trying too hard to sound deep and idk how else to explain it but it irked me. So big no for me.

However, the words themselves were quite nice, nothing special though. I did like “You Better Start Kissing Me”, but other than that the poems themselves were pleasant but none particularly stood out to me.

Nonetheless I’ll make a note to try some more Hafiz later. Just in a paper written format instead of audio.

[Jenny Webb · Rating 1 out of 5]

This didn’t ring true for the poet I was expecting. Did a little looking and Ladinsky isn’t who you want to be reading if you’re looking for Hafez.

[Anjali · Rating 1 out of 5]

(rating is for the “translator”, not for Hafiz)

[Planxti's Imaginary World · Rating 3 out of 5]

Without understanding the language and culture it's a little confusing.

[Isa Orozco · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing to learn this is not really Hafez. Thank you, whoever posted the article from Al Jazeera.

[UltraMuse · Rating 1 out of 5]

مزعج جدًا جدًا

[Barbi Zemtsov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enlightening on many of the seemingly modern lifestyles that encourage one to lose his identity. They aren't modern, just a resurfacing of the old that we had previously disgarded when we, as a culture, chose Christianity. Much of it I did not understand, requiring more research and a deeper understanding of Ancient Persian culture.

[Summer Gurganus · Rating 2 out of 5]

The music was beautiful. I enjoyed the presentation of poems but I was lost at many of them. There were a few nuggets of gold. This is for sure my first experience with attempting to view my relationship with God through the lens of sexual desire and lust which threw me for a loop.

[Lydia Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS! I got the audio version, which I think enhances the experience even more. I have listened through 3 times so far.

[Sally Felt · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautiful. I finally had to grab a notebook as I was listening, and scribble favorite phrases to look up again later.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the poems are by Ladinsky, and not at all Hafez, there are still some lovely pieces and lines.

[Baroness · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems and music stirred the desire within me…

[CL · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn’t awful, though I do wish the “screaming” from the beginning wasn’t so startling. I wished they warned us about that first. Also the narrators voice was really soothing which I did like.

[ZzzzzzZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soooo absolutely stunningly beautifully divine — all the wowz 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🖤🤎🩶🤍❤️‍🩹💖

[rachkatr · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was convoluted and the narrator/reader's voice was SO OBNOXIOUS. There were maybe a few good nuggets but absolutely nothing to write home about :P