Week 11 · mystical

Hafiz

Hafiz is the poet people quote at weddings when they think they're quoting Rumi. He was a 14th-century Persian master of the ghazal, a form of love poetry so layered that every verse operates on at least two levels: human love and divine love (often at the same time). In Iran, his tomb gets more visitors than almost any other site. People open his book at random to get answers to life questions, like a sacred Magic 8-Ball.

“"I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your own being." That's how Hafiz talked to people. Not as a guru dispensing wisdom, but as someone who'd already seen what you haven't seen yet and couldn't wait to tell you.”