Ghazal 162 of Hafez (11 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.
Read it word by wordTake your own fâl
COUPLET 1
خوش آمد گُل وز آن خوش‌تر نباشدکه در دستت بجز ساغر نباشد
khosh âmad gol v-az ân khoshtar nabâshad / ke dar dastat bejoz sâghar nabâshad
The rose has come, welcome! And nothing is sweeter than having nothing in your hand but the wine cup.
COUPLET 2
زمانِ خوش‌دلی دریاب و دُر یابکه دایم در صدف گوهر نباشد
zamân-e khoshdeli dar yâb o dor yâb / ke dâyem dar sadaf gowhar nabâshad
Seize the time of happiness and find the pearl, for the pearl will not stay in the shell forever.
COUPLET 3
غنیمت دان و مِی خور در گلستانکه گُل تا هفتهٔ دیگر نباشد
ghanimat dân o mey khor dar golestân / ke gol tâ hafte-ye digar nabâshad
Count it a blessing and drink wine in the rose garden, for the rose will be gone by next week.
COUPLET 4
ایا پُرلعل کرده جامِ زَرّینببخشا بر کسی کش زر نباشد
ayâ por-la'l karde jâm-e zarrin / bebakhshâ bar kasi k-ash zar nabâshad
O you who have filled the golden cup with ruby wine, be generous to one who has no gold.
COUPLET 5
بیا ای شیخ و از خُم‌خانهٔ ماشرابی خور که در کوثر نباشد
biyâ ey sheykh o az khom-khâne-ye mâ / sharâbi khor ke dar kowsar nabâshad
Come, sheikh, and from our wine cellar drink a wine that is not found even in Kowsar, the river of paradise.
COUPLET 6
بشوی اوراق اگر هم‌درسِ ماییکه عِلمِ عشق در دفتر نباشد
beshuy owrâgh agar hamdars-e mâyi / ke elm-e eshgh dar daftar nabâshad
Wash the pages clean if you are our fellow student, for the knowledge of love is not found in books.
COUPLET 7
ز من بنیوش و دل در شاهدی بندکه حُسنش بستهٔ زیور نباشد
ze man beniyush o del dar shâhedi band / ke hosnash baste-ye zivar nabâshad
Listen to me and give your heart to a beauty whose loveliness does not depend on jewelry.
COUPLET 8
شرابی بی‌خمارم بخش یا ربکه با وی هیچ دردِ سر نباشد
sharâbi bi-khomâram bakhsh yâ rab / ke bâ vey hich dard-e sar nabâshad
Lord, grant me a wine without a hangover, one that brings no headache at all.
COUPLET 9
من از جان بندهٔ سلطان اویسماگر چه یادش از چاکر نباشد
man az jân bande-ye soltân oveysam / agarche yâdash az châkar nabâshad
With all my soul I am the servant of Sultan Oveys, even if he does not remember his servant.
COUPLET 10
به تاجِ عالم آرایش که خورشیدچنین زیبندهٔ افسر نباشد
be tâj-e âlam-ârâyash ke khorshid / chonin zibande-ye afsar nabâshad
By his world-adorning crown, even the sun does not wear a crown so becomingly.
COUPLET 11
کسی گیرد خطا بر نظمِ حافظکه هیچش لطف در گوهر نباشد
kasi girad khatâ bar nazm-e Hâfez / ke hichash lotf dar gowhar nabâshad
Only someone with no grace in his own nature would find fault with Hafez's verse.
What this fâl tells you
The rose has come, and it will not stay long: this fal tells you to enjoy a good season while it lasts. Tradition reads it as a sign of a happy, generous time, with advice to share with those who have less. Learn from life rather than only from books, and choose what is beautiful without ornament.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: nabâshad. qâfiye: -ar (khoshtar, sâghar, gowhar, digar, zar, kowsar, daftar, zivar, sar, châkar, afsar). Beyt 2 puns on dar yâb "seize" and dor yâb "find the pearl". Sultan Oveys is the Jalayerid ruler of Baghdad.
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| khosh | well, sweetly; pleasant dictionary | |
| âmad | came dictionary | |
| گل | gol | rose; flower dictionary |
| وز | v-az | and from (= va az) (و از) |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| khoshtar | sweeter, more pleasant dictionary | |
| نباشد | nabâshad | is not, will not be dictionary |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| dastat | your hand dictionary | |
| bejoz | except (جز) | |
| sâghar | cup dictionary | |
| zamân | time dictionary | |
| dar yâb | seize! grasp! dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| یاب | yâb | find! (dor yâb = find the pearl) (بیاب) dictionary |
| dâyem | always (همیشه) | |
| sadaf | shell, oyster shell dictionary | |
| گوهر | gowhar | pearl; one's essence, nature dictionary |
| ghanimat | godsend; ghanimat dânestan = to treasure dictionary | |
| dân | know! consider! (بدان) dictionary | |
| mey | wine (شراب) dictionary | |
| khor | drink! eat! (imperative) (بخور / بنوش) dictionary | |
| گلستان | golestân | rose garden dictionary |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| هفتهٔ | hafte-ye | week dictionary |
| ayâ | O! (ای) | |
| کرده | karde | having made dictionary |
| jâm | cup dictionary | |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| kasi | someone; har kasi = everyone dictionary | |
| کش | k-ash | who ... him (= ke u-râ) (که او را) |
| zar | gold dictionary | |
| biyâ | come! dictionary | |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| sheykh | sheikh, religious elder dictionary | |
| ما | mâ | we, us; our dictionary |
| sharâbi | a wine dictionary | |
| beshuy | wash! dictionary | |
| owrâgh | pages (ورق‌ها) dictionary | |
| agar | if dictionary | |
| mâyi | you are ours dictionary | |
| elm-e | knowledge, science of dictionary | |
| daftar | book dictionary | |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| beniyush | listen! (بشنو) | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| shâhedi | a beauty dictionary | |
| band | rope, bond dictionary | |
| hosnash | her beauty dictionary | |
| baste-ye | dependent on, bound to dictionary | |
| zivar | ornament, jewelry dictionary | |
| bakhsh | grant! (ببخش) dictionary | |
| یا | yâ | O (vocative); or dictionary |
| bâ | with dictionary | |
| vey | it, him (او) | |
| هیچ | hich | any; no dictionary |
| sar | head; sar be kuh dâdan = to send someone off wandering dictionary | |
| jân | life, soul dictionary | |
| bande | servant; humble "I" dictionary | |
| soltân | sultan dictionary | |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| یادش | yâdash | his memory dictionary |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| tâj-e | crown of dictionary | |
| âlam | world dictionary | |
| چنین | chenin | such, so dictionary |
| afsar | crown (تاج) dictionary | |
| گیرد | girad | takes; khatâ gereftan = find fault dictionary |
| khatâ | fault, error dictionary | |
| نظم | nazm | verse, poetry dictionary |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| هیچش | hichash | in him no dictionary |
| لطف | lotf | kindness, grace; be lotf = kindly, gently dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 162. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
Love Persian poetry? Learn to read it: free Starter Pack
Get the 14-page printable Starter Pack (all 32 letters, a 7-day reading plan, 100 core words and 20 survival phrases) and a short 5-email course. Free.