Ghazal 14 of Hafez (8 couplets), in the original Persian as on Ganjoor, with a transliteration, a plain English translation, the meanings of key words and the traditional fâl-e Hâfez reading.
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COUPLET 1
گفتم ای سلطانِ خوبان رحم کن بر این غریبگفت در دنبالِ دل، رَه گُم کُنَد مسکین غریب
goftam ey soltân-e khubân, rahm kon bar in gharib / goft dar donbâl-e del rah gom konad meskin gharib
I said, "O sultan of the beautiful, have mercy on this stranger." The beloved said, "The poor stranger who follows his heart loses his way."
COUPLET 2
گفتمش مَگذر زمانی، گفت معذورم بدارخانه پروردی چه تاب آرد غم چندین غریب
goftamash magzar zamâni, goft ma'zuram bedâr / khâne-parvardi che tâb ârad gham-e chandin gharib
I said, "Stay a moment." The beloved said, "Excuse me: how could someone raised at home bear the grief of so many strangers?"
COUPLET 3
خفته بر سنجابِ شاهی نازنینی را چه غم؟گر ز خار و خاره سازد بستر و بالین غریب
khofte bar sanjâb-e shâhi nâzanini râ che gham / gar ze khâr o khâre sâzad bastar o bâlin gharib?
Why should a darling asleep on royal fur care if the stranger makes his bed and pillow of thorns and stone?
COUPLET 4
ای که در زنجیرِ زلفت جایِ چندین آشناستخوش فتاد آن خالِ مشکین بر رخِ رنگین غریب
ey ke dar zanjir-e zolfat jâ-ye chandin âshenâ-st / khosh fetâd ân khâl-e meshkin bar rokh-e rangin gharib
You, in the chain of whose curls so many friends have found a place: how lovely that musky mole has landed, a stranger, on your bright cheek.
COUPLET 5
می‌نماید عکسِ مِی، در رنگِ رویِ مَه وَشَتهمچو برگِ ارغوان بر صفحهٔ نسرین، غریب
minamâyad aks-e mey dar rang-e ru-ye mah-vashat / hamcho barg-e arghavân bar safhe-ye nasrin gharib
The glow of wine on your moon-like face looks wonderfully strange, like a redbud petal on a page of white roses.
COUPLET 6
بس غریب افتاده است آن مور خَط، گِردِ رُخَتگرچه نَبوَد در نگارستان، خطِ مشکین غریب
bas gharib oftâde ast ân mur-e khat gerd-e rokhat / garche nabvad dar negârestân khat-e meshkin gharib
How strange that ant-like line of down looks around your cheek, though musky lines are nothing strange in a gallery of pictures.
COUPLET 7
گفتم ای شامِ غریبان طُرِّهٔ شبرنگِ تودر سحرگاهان حذر کن چون بنالد این غریب
goftam ey shâm-e gharibân torre-ye shabrang-e to / dar sahargâhân hazar kon chon benâlad in gharib
I said, "Your night-dark lock is the evening of the homeless. Beware at dawn, when this stranger cries out."
COUPLET 8
گفت حافظ آشنایان در مقامِ حیرتنددور نَبوَد گر نشیند خسته و مسکین غریب
goft Hâfez âshenâyân dar maghâm-e heyrat-and / dur nabvad gar neshinad khaste o meskin gharib
The beloved said, "Hafez, even those who know the way stand bewildered; no wonder the stranger sits tired and helpless."
What this fâl tells you
You may feel like a stranger far from home, but the beloved has noticed you. Tradition reads this fal as a sign that confusion is natural on this road: even experienced people are unsure. Be patient, speak your heart sincerely, and your cry at dawn will not go unheard.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: gharib ("stranger"; also "strange, wonderful"). qâfiye: -in (meskin, chandin, bâlin, rangin, nasrin, meshkin). Hafez plays on both senses of gharib.
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| گفتم | goftam | I said dictionary |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| soltân | sultan, king dictionary | |
| khubân | the beautiful ones (زیبارویان) | |
| rahm | mercy dictionary | |
| کن | kon | do! make! (imperative of kardan) dictionary |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| in | this dictionary | |
| gharib | stranger, someone far from home dictionary | |
| گفت | goft | say (with natavân: cannot say); said dictionary |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| donbâl | following, behind dictionary | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| rah | road, way (short for râh) (راه) | |
| کند | konad | does; makes dictionary |
| مسکین | meskin | poor, wretched dictionary |
| گفتمش | goftamash | I said to him dictionary |
| مگذر | magzar | do not pass on! stay! (نگذر) dictionary |
| zamâni | a moment dictionary | |
| bedâr | hold! ma'zur dâshtan = to excuse dictionary | |
| khâne | house dictionary | |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| tâb | twist, curl dictionary | |
| ârad | brings; be dast ârad = takes in hand, wins (بیاورد) dictionary | |
| gham | sorrow, grief dictionary | |
| چندین | chandin | so many dictionary |
| khofte | asleep dictionary | |
| nâzanini | a darling dictionary | |
| گر | gar | if (= agar) (اگر) dictionary |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| khâr | thorn dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| khâre | granite, hard stone; sang-e khâre = hardest rock (سنگ خارا) | |
| sâzad | makes dictionary | |
| bastar | bed dictionary | |
| bâlin | pillow, bedside dictionary | |
| zanjir | chain dictionary | |
| zolfat | your curls dictionary | |
| jâ-ye | place of; be jâ-ye = toward, for (someone) (در حق) dictionary | |
| âshenâ-st | is a friend (= âshenâ ast) dictionary | |
| khosh | well, sweetly; pleasant dictionary | |
| فتاد | fetâd | fell, landed (افتاد) dictionary |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| khâl | mole, beauty spot dictionary | |
| rokh | face, cheek dictionary | |
| rangin | colored; stained dictionary | |
| می‌نماید | minamâyad | appears, seems (به نظر می‌رسد) dictionary |
| aks | reflection dictionary | |
| mey | wine (شراب) dictionary | |
| rang | color dictionary | |
| ru-ye | face of (ezafe) (چهره) dictionary | |
| مه | mah | moon (= mâh) (ماه) |
| همچو | hamcho | like (مثل) |
| barg | leaf, petal dictionary | |
| safhe | page, surface dictionary | |
| bas | much, many dictionary | |
| oftâde | has fallen; looks dictionary | |
| ast | is dictionary | |
| مور | mur | ant; mur-e khat = the ant-like down on the cheek dictionary |
| khatt | line; here a painted line / the first down on the cheek dictionary | |
| rokhat | your face dictionary | |
| گرچه | garche | although dictionary |
| نبود | nabvad | is not (old form) (نیست / نباشد) dictionary |
| shâm | evening, night (dark curls) dictionary | |
| gharibân | strangers, the homeless; shâm-e gharibân = the evening of strangers dictionary | |
| torre | lock of hair, curl dictionary | |
| to | you dictionary | |
| چون | chon | since, when; like dictionary |
| benâlad | cries out, laments dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| âshenâyân | friends dictionary | |
| مقام | maghâm | place, station dictionary |
| heyrat-and | are in bewilderment dictionary | |
| dowr | turn; the passing round of the cup; the age dictionary | |
| نشیند | neshinad | sits; (that he may) sit dictionary |
| khaste | tired, wounded dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 14. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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