Your lover's beloved

"Hafez is the most beloved Persian lyric poet in Iran. He is undoubtedly the supreme lyricist of the Persian poetic tradition. His ghazals, unequaled in their subtlety, refinement, and eloquence, have had a lasting influence on subsequent Persian poetry. The richness of his imagery and the intricate musicalityof his linescombine to produce a poetry of inimitable eclat. Hafez's mastery of form and his verbal virtuosity are what make his poetry so irresistible. Hafez was born in Shiraz sometime between 1310 CE and 1337 CE with the year 1320 CE the most likely. His full name was Khwajeh Shams al-Din Mohammad Hafez-e Shirazi. His father Baha-ud-Din was a successful merchant from Isfahan who settled in Shiraz and died there hen Hafez was a very young child.^

In anycase, he undoubtedly received a thorough religious education, probably from listening to the recitations of the Qu'ran, as his pen name Hafez derives from the Arabic honorific term "hafiz," which is awarded to anyone who has accomplished the achievement of memorizing the entire Qu'ran, In his twenties, he worked in a bakery and fell in love with the beautiful Shikh-e Nabat, a young woman who he addresses in his poems. Later, he worked as a copyist. The fame of Hafez's writing grew during the period from 1340-1350 CE until he was able to establish himself as a poet, which in those days meant finding a generous and understanding patron. In his early thirties, he found some patronage as a court poet under Sultan Abu Ishak, and later he became a teacher of Qu'ranic studies in a college in Shiraz. However, when Mabarriz Muzaffar captured the city, Hafez, still in his thirties, must have suffered neglect.^

Mabarriz Muzaffar was an extremely devout Muslem and followed shariah prohibitions on wine to the letter. At this time Hafez seems to have been ousted from his position at the religious college. Nevertheless, Hafez's fortunes changed when Shah Shoja usurped the throne from his father Mabarriz Muzaffar. Shah Shoja, who ruled Shiraz for twenty-five years, was extremely liberal, drank wine, and wrote poetry himself. Once again, Hafez was a court poet, and he also regained his position as teacher at of religious studies at the college. Things remained settled for Hafez until sometime in his late forties when the next major upheaval in his life occurred. Apparently, Hafez fell out of favor in the court of Shah Shoja and fled from Shiraz to Isfahan. There, his exile lasted for about four years. His poems form this period are filled with despair, alienation, and longing for his home in Shiraz.^

These four years represent the only period Hafez ever spent away from his beloved hometown of Shiraz. By the time Hafez was in his early fifties, Shah Shoja invited him to return to Shiraz and reinstated him once again as teacher in the religious college. Most scholars agree that Hafez died in Shiraz at the age of sixty-nine in 1389 CE."--Jacket.