Background
Historical Context: Hafez’s Biography
Born Khwāja Šamsu d-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Šīrāzī, poet Hafez remains a beloved and pivotal icon in Persian poetry.
Hafez, also spelled as Hafiz, began his life in 1310 in the city of Shiraz (“Hafez.” Poetry Foundation). Although few known details remain of Hafez’s life, historians confirm he held a prominent position in his community. After his father’s death, he left school. Hafez eventually went from bakery worker and copyist to a court poet for Abu Ishak and teacher at a religious college. He also authored the poetry collection, The Divan.
Sufism, an Islamic practice and form of mysticism, informs Hafez’s work. Sufis advocate for an inward search for God, pacifism, tolerance, and rejecting materialism. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, an American Sufi cleric, said Sufis open their hearts and connect with God through methods such as meditation and chanting.
Dr. Omid Safi, the Islamic Studies Director at Duke University, states Hafez’s poetry is “inseparable from the world of Medieval Islam” (Safi, Omid. “Fake Hafez: How a Supreme Persian Poet of Love Was Erased.” Al Jazeera, 2020). Safi characterizes Hafez’s works as ambiguous and contradictory: “He is a mystic, though he pokes fun at ostentatious mystics.
