The Story of Hāfez’s Eternal Resting Place

— Third and last Part —

Nasser Kanani (Berlin)

In 1875 the British politician Sir Arthur Arnold (1833-1902) traveled through Persia and rendered his observations on Hāfez’s tomb into following words:

“We were at liberty to look at the grave of Hafiz, which is placed about the middle of the square inclosure. The ground is thickly beset with tombs, mostly flat, like that of Hafiz, but none so exquisitely carved, nor, like his, of marble. Hafiz’s tomb is covered with a single block of the beautiful marble of Yezd, of which about eighteen inches appear above the ground. The upper surface of this fine slab is nine feet long by two feet nine inches in width. In the centre there is an ode, written by Hafiz himself. Raised in low-relief, this ode, in the beautiful letters of the Persian alphabet, occupies the centre only of the slab. Round the edges, in a band about four inches deep, appears another ode. The tomb is probably not yet two hundred years old.”¹

Persian alphabet, occupies the centre only of the slab. Round the edges, in a band about four inches deep, appears another ode. The tomb is probably not yet two hundred years old.²

Farhād Mirzā

1878, an iron railing was built around the tomb of Hāfez by another governor of Fārs by the name of Farhād Mirzā³. He was an ardent admirer of Hāfez and his poetry.

Ten years later, in 1887, the famous British Iranologist Edward G. Browne (1862-1926), who spent the year 1887/8 in Persia, paid a visit to the shrine of Hāfez and noted:

“The Hafiziyye (Tomb of Hafiz), far more popular and better cared for, rendered conspicuous by its tall dark cypresses and white walls. The tomb of Hafiz occupies the centre of an enclosed garden beautifully planted with cypresses and orange-trees. It is marked by a simple oblong block of stone, engraved with inscriptions consisting for the most part of quotations from the poet’s works. At the top is the following sentence in Arabic:

“He (i.e. God) is the enduring, and all else passeth away.”

Beneath this is the ode beginning‒‒

Where is the good tidings of union with Thee?

For I will rise up with my whole heart;

I am a bird of Paradise, and I will soar upwards from the snare of the world.

Round the edge of the stone is inscribed the ode beginning‒‒

O heart, be the slave of the King of the World, and be a king!

Abide continually under the protection of God’s favour!

Written diagonally across the two triangular spaces formed by the upper corners of the tombstone is the couplet‒‒

When thou passest by the head of our tomb, invoke a blessing,

For it will be the place of pilgrimage of (all) the libertines of the world.

The corresponding spaces at the lower end of the tablet bear the well-known lines composed to commemorate the date of the poet’s death:‒‒

That Lamp of the mystics, Master Hafiz,

[Who was a candle of light from the Divine Effulgence,

Since he made his abode in the Earth of Musalla]

Seek his date from “the Earth of Musalla.”

The unequalled popularity still enjoyed by Hafiz is attested by the multitude of graves which surround his tomb. What Persian, indeed, would not desire that his ashes should mingle with those of the illustrious bard from whom contemporary fanaticism would fain have withheld the very rites of sepulture?”⁴

In 1889 the British statesman and Viceroy of India George N. Curzon (1859-1925) visited Persia and spent little more than three months there. While staying in Shiraz he photographed the tomb of Hāfez.

On his return to London Curzon wrote his magnum opus “Persia and the Persian Question.” The following is an excerpt of his detailed account on his visit to Hāfeziyeh:

“Nearer the city, and on the outskirts of its northern suburbs, the tomb of Hafiz stands in a cemetery crowded with Moslem graves. The enclosure, known as the Hafeizieh, consists of an upper and a lower path, i.e. the graveyard and a garden, separated by a summer-house. The cemetery is of comparatively modern growth; for ancient authors described the poet’s tomb as surrounded by trees, the last survivor of which, a cypress, said to have been planted by himself at the head of his grave, was cut down about 1811 A.D. The copy of the poet’s works that was once chained to his tomb was carried off by Ashraf the Afghan. But the original marble slab on which was said to have been sculped a cypress, was taken down by Kerim Khan, who built it into the tank in the Jehan Nemah [جهان نما: Displayer of the World], and replaced it by the present sarcophagus. This is made of yellow Yezd marble, and has two odes from the Diwan, or collection of the poet’s works, beautifully chiseled in relief in a number of elegant panels upon lid. Of that which is sculpted on the centre panels I have made a translation in elegiacs, a metre that seems to me to do least offence to the structure and spirit of the original:‒‒

Tell the glad tidings abroad that my soul may arise in communion,

I, with celestial wings, rise from the snares of the world.

Didst thou but call me to come and wait s a slave on thy bidding,

Yet should I rise in esteem over the lords of the world

Lord, may the cloud of Thy mercy descend in raindrops upon me,

Now ere my body arise, scattered as dust on the wind

Sit on my tomb, ye friends, with mirth of minstrel and flagon,

So shall I rise from the grave dancing, aglow with desire.

Though I be old, one night do thou lie in my loving embraces,

Then from thy side in the morn fresh in my youth shall I rise.

Image of deeds that are lovely, on high shine forth, that as Hafiz

I from the grave may arise, soar above life and the world.

A frail iron railing now surrounds the tomb, which is visited by bands of admiring pilgrims, on devotional or festive aim intent; but I confess I think that in any other country in the world a greater distinction would encompass the last resting-place of a national hero and the object of adoration to millions. It is interesting to contrast the grave of the Persian poet with that of his European contemporary, Dante, whose sepulchre is not less an object of pilgrimage at Ravenna.”⁵

In 1891 Henry Wilberforce Clarke (1840-1905), a British Captain with the Bengal Engineers, who translated the complete Divān of Hāfez for the first time into English, described the burial site of the poet as follows:

“He [Hafez] is buried at a spot two miles north-east of Shiraz in the centre of a small cemetery, whereof the rest is laid out as a flower-garden with an avenue of cypress trees of grear size and age. The tomb of Hafiz is placed at the foot of one of the cypress trees which he himself planted. The cemetery is separated from the garden by an ornamental wall with a central portico. This site is called the Hafiziya.”⁶

In 1892 Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), the well-known British political officer, archaeologist and translator, traveled to Persia and while staying in Shiraz she paid a visit to the burying place of Hāfez. She wrote:

“The garden contains the tombs of many devout Persians who have desired to rest in the sacred earth which holds the bones of the poet [Hāfez], and his prophecy that his grave should become a place of pilgrimage for all the drunkards of the world has been to a great extent fulfilled.⁷ A very ancient cypress, said to be of Hafiz’s own planting, stood for many hundreds of years at the head of his grave, and “cast its shadow o’er the dust of his desire.”⁸

In 1894 and in 1898 Ella Sykes (1863-1939), a British traveler and writer, paid two visits to Persia and spent nearly three years. After her visit to Shiraz she noted the following about the shrine of Hāfez:

“The handsome tomb of Hafiz at Shiraz, planted round with tall cypresses, is constantly visited by all classes, the pleasure-seekers coming to pay homage to a master who understood the joie de vivre [joy of living], and who loved art for art’s sake; while the religious look upon the poet as a mystic, whose most apparently material utterances have an esoteric meaning for the elect. Hafiz has thus the somewhat remarkable fate of being adored by both saints and sinners after his death, and his tomb is surrounded by the graves of countless admirers.”⁹

Khosrow Shah Jahān

In 1899, a Zoroastrian philanthropist by the name of Khosrow¹⁰, who was a Parsi¹¹ from India, succeeded in obtaining permission from the ulema¹² of Shiraz to build a new shrine of iron and wood around the grave of Hāfez.

His decision to do so was based on an omen taken from the Divān. However, before the construction work was completed, an influential religious authority of Shiraz known as Ali-Akbar Fāl Asiri¹³ encouraged his followers to destroy the building. He argued that a Gabr¹⁴ should not be allowed to raise a building over the grave of a Muslim. When the people of Shiraz protested the destruction and the government led by Nezām-ol-Molk¹⁵ ordered the rebuilding of the monument, Fāl Asiri again threatened to destroy the building.

 

Malek Mansur Mirzā

The burial site of Hāfez remained in ruins until 1901 when Prince Malek Mansur Mirzā¹⁶ secured the necessary funding and commissioned his painter Ali-Akbar Mozayyen-ol-Dowleh¹⁷ to make a decorative iron Latticework around the tomb. The Latticework with little metal flags decorating its top was inscribed with verses and the names of its patrons. Thus, Hāfez’s memorial was turned into a mausoleum.

During the Qājār dynasty (1779-1925) numerous Europeans from all walks of life traveled to Persia, each one following his own business. Some of them took a trip to Shiraz to pay a visit to the tomb of Hāfez, the most famous son of that city.

In 1903 Abraham Valentine Williams Jackson (1862-1937), an American specialist on Indo-European languages, made a journey to Persia and while visiting the shrine of Hāfez he took a photograph from his mausoleum and noted:

“The tomb of Hafiz stands in the middle of the garden and is surrounded by a number of graves, since burial near the poet’s dust is now a special privilege. A handsome oblong block of marble covers the grave and takes the place of the original slab, which Karim Khan is said to have placed in the Jahan Namah [جهان نما] Garden when he replaced the stone by the present sarcophagus.

The block is beautifully carved with verses from the poet’s writings and at the top is an Arabic inscription, the tenor of which is the transitory character of human things and the eternal nature of God; while at the bottom is added the date of the poet’s death, which is given as the year 1389 (A.H. 791).

The present governor of Shiraz has taken pains to have the sepulchre protected by a large iron grating which is more imposing than the old metal cage that formerly enclosed it, and the scroll-work and design show some artistic taste. The stanchions and corner-posts, however, are iron telegraph poles, received from the Indo-European Telegraph Company, and the Shirazis seemed to be almost as proud of these and of the little metal flags that decorate the top, as of the inscribed slab over the poet’s dust.”¹⁸

In 1925, Alphonse Marie Tracey Woodward (1876-1938), a British philatelist, traveled to Persia and in 1928 published an article titled “Notes on a Journey across Persia” reporting on his experiences during his journey.

The photograph shows the badly damaged overall status of the shrine only twenty year after Williams Jackson had visited the shrine in almost acceptable condition.

 

André Godard

In 1931, the orange grove (Nārenjestān) was restored and a large stone portal was erected in the south wall of the Hāfeziyeh by the then governor-general of Isfahan and Fārs Faraj-Allāh Bahrāmi¹⁹. Further plans for renovation were postponed until 1935. In this year, the French architect and archeologist André Godard (1881-1965) was commissioned by the Minister of Education Ali-Asqar Hekmat (1893-1980) to draw up an appropriate design for a completely new mausoleum for Hāfez. The Execution of the project was delegated to Ali Riāzi (1893-1957), the head of the Department of Education of Fārs, and the Iranian scholar and archeologist Ali Sāmi (1910-1989) was appointed as the project supervisor.

André Godard, who had been granted the technical directorship of the Iranian Antiquities Department in 1928²⁰, designed – probably in cooperation with another French architect and archeologist by the name of Maxime Siroux (1907-1975) – an octagonal pavilion for Hāfez’s mausoleum, which was then erected in an elaborately verdant garden.

Hafez’s tomb was elevated one metre above the ground level and surrounded by five circular steps. Eight columns, each ten metres tall, support a copper dome shaped like a dervish’s hat.²¹ The interior of the copper dome sheltering the tombstone is covered in polychrome glazed tile work; eight distiches (beyt) of the ghazal beginning

حجاب چهرهٔ جان می ‌شود غبار تنم

خوشا دمی که از آن چهره پرده برفکنم

The dust of my body is becoming the veil in front of the face of the soul.

O happy the moment when from off that face I cast the veil aside!²²

are inscribed in Thuluth (‎ثُلُث) script, one on each eight façades.

The modern tomb of Hāfez has become the most popular pilgrimage site in Shiraz, and ever since it was erected it has been the pantheon of literates, scholars, poets and artists from all over the world. During the last decades many prominent foreign poets and literary figures as well as a large number of famous personalities from all walks of life have attended the modern mausoleum.

The famous verse, in which Hāfez had envisaged that his tomb would once become a place of pilgrimage for rendan²³ from all over the world turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. When the English novelist and historian Robert Payne (1911-1983) said he thought the best thing about Persia was Persepolis, the British poet Basil Bunting (1900-1985) replied that he was wrong and reminded him of the inscription on the tomb of Hāfez:

When thou passest by the head of this tomb, invoke a blessing,

For this is a place of pilgrimage for all the libertines of the world.²⁴

While visiting Hāfez’s shrine in April 1932 the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913, touched and intrigued by Hāfez’s poetry and his mystic lyrics made the following remark in his travelogue: “Sitting beside the tomb of Hafiz, a bright glint from Hafiz eyes passed through my mind; like the spring sunlight shining now. I feel very clear. Although centuries have passed and many have come and gone, sitting beside Hafiz’s tomb means conducting accompany him.”²⁵

 

Notes:

1. Arthur Arnold: “Through Persia by Caravan,” Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York, 1877, pp. 349-351.
2. 2. فرهاد میرزا معتمدالدوله (۱۱٩۷-۱۲۶۷ خورشیدی) فرزندعباس میرزا نایب السطنه و از رجال مشهور دوران ناصرالدین شاه بود.
3. 3. بر سر تربت ما چون گذری همت خواه / که زیارتگه رندان جهان خواهد بود
4. Edward G. Browne: “A year amongst the Persians: Impressions as to the Life, Character, & Thought of the People of Persia,” Adam & Charlie Black Ltd, London, 1893, p. 278 and pp. 280-281.
5. Mahmoud Ashraf, an Afghan army commander, briefly succeeded to the throne of Persia (1725-1729), but was completely defeated by Nāder Shah. He was flying from Shiraz toward his own country when he was killed by a party of tribesmen in 1730.
6. George N. Curzon: “Persia and the Persian Question,” op. cit., pp. 108-109.
7. Henry Wilberforce Clarke: “The Dīvān written in the fourteenth century by Khwāja Shamsu-d-Dīn Muhammad-i-Hāfiz-i-Shīrāzī otherwise known as Lisānu-l-Ghaib and Tarjumānu-l-Asrār,” 1891, Vol. I, p. xxxiii.
8. The prophecy Gertrude Bell has referred to in this passage is the following verse:

بر سر تربت ما چون گذری همت خواه / که زیارتگه رندان جهان خواهد بود

9. Gertrude Bell: “Poems from the Divan of Hafiz,” William Heinemann, London, 1897, p. 29.
10. Ella C Sykes: “Persia and its People,” London, 1910, p. 313.
11. چهار برادر زرتشتی از پارسیان هند به نام های پرویز، خسرو، گودرز و رستم که همگی به شاه جهان شهرت داشتند، به علت وابستگی شدیدی که به سرزمین دیرین خود ایران احساس می کردند می کوشیدند تا خدمات با ارزش و گسترده ای برای مردم انجام دهند. خسرو شاه جهان در صدد بود که “بُقعه“ زیبائی از چوب و آهن برای حافظ بنا نماید.
12. Parsis or Parsees (lit. ‘Persian’  in the Persian language) are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent whose religion is Zoroastrianism. Their ancestors migrated to the region from modern-day Iran following the Muslim conquest of Persia in the 7th century CE. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
13. In Islam, the ulama also spelled ulema (literally “the learned ones”) are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam, including Islamic doctrine and law. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
14. سید علی اکبر فال اسیری (۱۲۱٩-۱۲۸۱ خورشیدی) یکی از روحانیون بسیار با نفوذ شیراز بود که خود را از شیفتگان و مریدان حافظ نمایش می داد. او حتی هنگامی که حکومت خود می خواست مقبره حافظ را بازسازی کند، روی منبر رفته و فریاد زد „اگر شاه هم بخواهد بسازد باز من خراب می کنم.“ جسد فال اسیری پس از مرگ در جوار حافظ به خاک سپرده شد.
15. Gabr is a Persian term to denote a Zoroastrian; it has a pejorative meaning.
16. عبدالوهاب خان نظام ‌الملک (۱۲٣۰-۱۲٩۶ خورشیدی) از رجال و درباریان دوره قاجار و به مدت یک سال حاکم فارس بود. به دستور او مقداری تخته و آهن برای ساختن مقبره حافظ سفارش داده شد اما سید علی اکبر فال اسیری با گروهی از طرفداران خود آن ابزار با خود به غارت بردند وایادی نظام ‌الملک نیز به روی خود نیاورده و قضیه را به فراموشی سپردند.
17. میرزا شُعاع السطنه (۱۲۲۰-۱۲۶۱) دومین پسر مظفرالدین شاه بود. او از همسران متعدد خود صاحب یازده فرزند شد که همگی آنها در دوره رضاشاه نام خانوادگی „مَلِک منصور“ را برای خود برگزیدند.
18. میرزا علی‌اکبر خان نطنزی، ملقب به مزین‌الدوله (۱۱۸٣-۱۲۷٣خورشیدی) مشهور به نقاش باشی از مترجمین و موسیقیدانان دوران قاجار و از نخستین بنیانگذاران تئاتر ایران بود.
19. A. V. William Jackson: “Persia Past and Present. A book of travel and research with more than two hundred illustrations and a map,” MacMillan & Co., Ltd. London, 1906, p. 332-333.
20. میرزا فرج‌الله خان دبیراعظم (۱۲۶۱-۱۳۳۰ خورشیدی) که نام خانوادگی بهرامی را در دوران رضا شاه برای خود انتخاب نمود از روزنامه نگاران و نیز دولتمردان آن زمان و مدتی نیز رئیس دفتر رضا شاه بود.
21. Godard held this position until 1953. He served again as director of Iranian Archeological Service from 1956 to 1960, in which year he returned to Paris.
22. The dome is well lit at night, providing an attractive focal point.
23. “The Collected Lyrics of Háfiz of Shíráz. Translated by Peter Avery”, Archetyp, Cambridge, UK, 2007, p. 413.
24. The term rend in the sense of Hāfez refers to one who abandons everything for love. For this expression, which is one of Hāfez’s central concepts, various English translations have been proposed such as brigand, debauchee, drunkard, libertine, lout, pious rogue, rake, ruffian and vagrant. Yahya Kemal Beyatli (1884-1958), the last classical poet of Turkey, has used the term in his poem Rindlerin ölümü.
25. Richard Burton: “A Strong Song Tows Us – The Life of Basil Bunting,” Infinites Ideas Limited, Oxford, UK, 2013, p. 314.
26. http://www.ibna.ir/vdchiknz-23nvmd.01t2.txt