Ghazal 184 of Hafez (7 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
دوش دیدم که ملائک درِ میخانه زدندگِلِ آدم بسرشتَند و به پیمانه زدند
dush didam ke malâ'ek dar-e meykhâne zadand / gel-e âdam besereshtand o be peymâne zadand
Last night I saw the angels knocking at the tavern door; they kneaded the clay of Adam and shaped it into a wine cup.
COUPLET 2
ساکنانِ حرمِ سِتر و عفافِ ملکوتبا منِ راه‌نشین، بادهٔ مستانه زدند
sâkenân-e haram-e setr o afâf-e malakut / bâ man-e râh-neshin bâde-ye mastâne zadand
The dwellers in heaven's veiled and chaste sanctuary drank the wine of the drunkards with me, a beggar by the road.
COUPLET 3
آسمان بارِ امانت نتوانست کشیدقرعهٔ کار به نامِ منِ دیوانه زدند
âsmân bâr-e amânat natavânest keshid / ghor'e-ye kâr be nâm-e man-e divâne zadand
The heavens could not carry the burden of the trust, so the lot was drawn in the name of me, the madman.
COUPLET 4
جنگِ هفتاد و دو ملت همه را عذر بِنهچون ندیدند حقیقت، رهِ افسانه زدند
jang-e haftâd o do mellat hame râ ozr beneh / chon nadidand haghighat rah-e afsâne zadand
Forgive the quarrels of all the seventy-two sects: since they could not see the truth, they took the road of legend.
COUPLET 5
شُکرِ ایزد که میانِ من و او صلح افتادصوفیان، رقص‌کنان، ساغرِ شکرانه زدند
shokr-e izad ke miyân-e man o u solh oftâd / sufiyân raghs-konân sâghar-e shokrâne zadand
Thank God that peace has come between me and him: the Sufis, dancing, drank the cup of thanks.
COUPLET 6
آتش آن نیست که از شعلهٔ او خندد شمعآتش آن است که در خرمنِ پروانه زدند
âtash ân nist ke az sho'le-ye u khandad sham' / âtash ân ast ke dar kharman-e parvâne zadand
True fire is not the flame that makes the candle laugh; true fire is the one they set to the moth's whole harvest.
COUPLET 7
کس چو حافظ نَگُشاد، از رخِ اندیشه نقابتا سرِ زلفِ سخن را، به قلم شانه زدند
kas cho Hâfez nagoshâd az rokh-e andishe neghâb / tâ sar-e zolf-e sokhan râ be ghalam shâne zadand
No one has lifted the veil from the face of thought as Hafez has, ever since the pen first combed the curls of speech.
What this fâl tells you
Something important has been placed in your hands, a responsibility or a gift that others could not carry. Tradition reads this fal as a call for tolerance: forgive those who argue because they cannot see the whole truth. A reconciliation may be close.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: zadand ("they struck"; used in many idioms here). qâfiye: -âne (meykhâne, peymâne, mastâne, divâne, afsâne, shokrâne, parvâne, shâne).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| dush | last night (دیشب) dictionary | |
| didam | I saw dictionary | |
| ملائک | malâ'ek | angels (فرشتگان) |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| میخانه | meykhâne | tavern dictionary |
| zadand | (they) struck; ghor'e zadan = to draw lots dictionary | |
| گل | gol | rose; flower dictionary |
| âdam | Adam dictionary | |
| besereshtand | (they) kneaded (سرشتند) | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| پیمانه | peymâne | cup, measure dictionary |
| sâkenân | dwellers dictionary | |
| bâ | with dictionary | |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| bâde | wine dictionary | |
| bâr | load, burden dictionary | |
| amânat | trust, something held in trust dictionary | |
| نتوانست | natavânest | could not dictionary |
| کشید | keshid | carry (with natavânest: could not carry) dictionary |
| قرعهٔ | ghor'e | lot (drawn for chance) dictionary |
| کار | kâr | work; affair, matter dictionary |
| نام | nâm | name, fame dictionary |
| divâne | madman dictionary | |
| jang | fight, quarrel dictionary | |
| هفتاد | haftâd | seventy; haftâd o do mellat = the seventy-two sects, all creeds dictionary |
| do | two dictionary | |
| همه | hame | all, whole dictionary |
| beneh | put! (with ozr: excuse) (بگذار) dictionary | |
| چون | chon | since, when; like dictionary |
| ندیدند | nadidand | (they) did not see dictionary |
| haghighat | truth dictionary | |
| rah | road, way (short for râh) (راه) | |
| afsâne | tale, legend dictionary | |
| shokr | thanks, gratitude; shokr-e izad = thank God dictionary | |
| izad | God dictionary | |
| میان | miyân | between dictionary |
| u | him / her (Persian does not mark gender) dictionary | |
| solh | peace dictionary | |
| oftâd | fell; happened, arose (پیش آمد) dictionary | |
| sâghar | cup dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| نیست | nist | is not; there is not dictionary |
| sho'le | flame dictionary | |
| khandad | laughs (بخندد) dictionary | |
| sham' | candle dictionary | |
| ast | is dictionary | |
| kharman | harvest, threshing heap dictionary | |
| پروانه | parvâne | moth (drawn to the candle) dictionary |
| کس | kas | anyone; with negative: no one dictionary |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| نگشاد | nagoshâd | did not open, did not lift dictionary |
| rokh | face, cheek dictionary | |
| andishe | thought dictionary | |
| نقاب | neghâb | veil dictionary |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| sar | head; sar be kuh dâdan = to send someone off wandering dictionary | |
| zolf | curl, lock of hair dictionary | |
| sokhan | speech, words dictionary | |
| قلم | ghalam | pen; ghalam zadan bar = to strike out, cancel dictionary |
| shâne | comb; shâne zadan = to comb dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 184. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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