Dīwān-i Ḥāfiẓ-i Shīrāzī
Kuhantarīn nuskha-yi shinākhta shuda-yi kāmil kitābat 801 hijrī
Description:... Ḥāfiẓ Shīrāzī (d. 791/1389) is the most popular poet of the Persianate world and the greatest lyricist of all. There is virtually no family in Iran that does not possess a copy of his divan. Many people quote from his work by heart. His poetry is often used in proverbs, and fortune-telling with his divan is common practice in all layers of society, earning him his nickname of ‘Lisān al-ghayb’, i.e. ‘the voice of the unknown’. Ḥāfiẓ’s poems combine practical wisdom with meditations on destiny while emphasizing the importance of living in the moment, today called ‘mindfulness’. Despite claims to the contrary, his poetry is not mystical but definitely about the here-and-now. His favourite themes are love, wine and its effects, and the witty exposure of pretenders. This facsimile of the second oldest and completest copy of his divan from 801/1399 is the only one to posses the complete introduction by its compiler, Muḥammad Gulandām.
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