Ghazal 2 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.
Read it word by wordTake your own fâl
COUPLET 1
صلاحِ کار کجا و منِ خراب کجا؟ببین تفاوتِ رَه کز کجاست تا به کجا
salâh-e kâr kojâ va man-e kharâb kojâ / bebin tafâvot-e rah k-az kojâst tâ be kojâ
Where is good sense, and where am I, a ruined man? See how far apart the two roads are: from where, to where!
COUPLET 2
دلم ز صومعه بگرفت و خِرقِهٔ سالوسکجاست دِیرِ مُغان و شرابِ ناب کجا؟
delam ze sowme'e begreft o kherghe-ye sâlus / kojâst deyr-e moghân o sharâb-e nâb kojâ
My heart grew weary of the cloister and the cloak of hypocrisy. Where is the temple of the Magi, and where the pure wine?
COUPLET 3
چه نسبت است به رِندی صَلاح و تقوا را؟سماعِ وَعظ کجا نغمهٔ رَباب کجا؟
che nesbat ast be rendi salâh o taghvâ râ / samâ'-e va'z kojâ naghme-ye rabâb kojâ
What do propriety and piety have to do with the free-spirited life? How far is listening to a sermon from the melody of the rebab!
COUPLET 4
ز رویِ دوست دلِ دشمنان چه دریابد؟چراغِ مُرده کجا؟ شمعِ آفتاب کجا؟
ze ru-ye dust del-e doshmanân che daryâbad / cherâgh-e morde kojâ sham'-e âftâb kojâ
What can an enemy's heart grasp of the friend's face? How can a dead lamp compare with the candle of the sun?
COUPLET 5
چو کُحلِ بینشِ ما خاکِ آستانِ شماستکجا رَویم بفرما ازین جناب، کجا
cho kohl-e binesh-e mâ khâk-e âstân-e shomâst / kojâ ravim befarmâ az in jenâb kojâ
Since the dust of your doorstep is the kohl that gives our eyes their sight, tell us: where could we go from this threshold, where?
COUPLET 6
مَبین به سیبِ زَنَخدان که چاه در راه استکجا همی رَوی ای دل بدین شتاب کجا؟
mabin be sib-e zanakhdân ke châh dar râh ast / kojâ hami ravi ey del bedin shetâb kojâ
Do not gaze at that apple of a chin: there is a well in the road. Where are you going, my heart, in such a hurry, where?
COUPLET 7
بِشُد! که یادِ خوشش باد روزگارِ وصالخود آن کِرِشمه کجا رفت و آن عِتاب کجا؟
beshod ke yâd-e khoshash bâd ruzegâr-e vesâl / khod ân kereshme kojâ raft o ân etâb kojâ
The days of being together are gone, may their memory stay sweet. Where did those playful glances go, and those gentle reproaches?
COUPLET 8
قرار و خواب ز حافظ طمع مدار ای دوستقرار چیست صبوری کدام و خواب کجا؟
gharâr o khâb ze Hâfez tama' madâr ey dust / gharâr chist, saburi kodâm o khâb kojâ
Do not expect calm or sleep from Hafez, my friend. What is calm, which patience, and where is sleep?
What this fâl tells you
You may feel caught between what is expected of you and what your heart really wants. Tradition reads this fal as a reminder to stay near the "threshold" that truly helps you see clearly, and not to rush ahead: a hurried heart can miss the well in the road.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: kojâ ("where"). qâfiye: -âb (kharâb, nâb, rabâb, âftâb, jenâb, shetâb, etâb, khâb).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| کار | kâr | work; affair, matter dictionary |
| کجا | kojâ | where; how? (rhetorical) dictionary |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| kharâb | ruined; (in Hafez) drunk, wrecked by love dictionary | |
| bebin | see! look! dictionary | |
| tafâvot | difference dictionary | |
| rah | road, way (short for râh) (راه) | |
| کز | k-az | that from (= ke az) (که از) |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| delam | my heart dictionary | |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| sowme'e | cloister, hermitage (place of formal piety) dictionary | |
| begreft | grew weary, was saddened (del gereftan) (گرفت) dictionary | |
| kherghe | dervish's cloak, Sufi robe dictionary | |
| sâlus | hypocrisy, false piety (ریاکاری) | |
| sharâb | wine dictionary | |
| ناب | nâb | pure dictionary |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| نسبت | nesbat | relation, connection dictionary |
| ast | is dictionary | |
| rendi | free-spirited life of the "rend" (a rogue who scorns hypocrisy) dictionary | |
| taghvâ | piety dictionary | |
| وعظ | va'z | sermon, preaching dictionary |
| نغمهٔ | naghme | melody dictionary |
| ru-ye | face of (ezafe) (چهره) dictionary | |
| dust | friend; (in Hafez) the beloved, or God dictionary | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| doshmanân | enemies dictionary | |
| daryâbad | grasps, understands (بفهمد) dictionary | |
| چراغ | cherâgh | lamp dictionary |
| مرده | morde | dead; gone out dictionary |
| sham' | candle dictionary | |
| âftâb | sun dictionary | |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| کحل | kohl | kohl, eye powder (believed to strengthen sight) (سرمه) |
| ما | mâ | we, us; our dictionary |
| khâk | dust, earth dictionary | |
| ravim | (we) go (برویم) dictionary | |
| befarmâ | please tell; command dictionary | |
| az in | from this (= az in) (از این) | |
| jenâb | threshold, court; presence of a great person (آستانه) dictionary | |
| مبین | mabin | do not look (old imperative) (نگاه نکن) dictionary |
| sib | apple dictionary | |
| zanakhdân | chin; "apple of the chin" with a dimple ("well") is a classic image (چانه) | |
| چاه | châh | well, pit dictionary |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| râh | way, road dictionary | |
| hami | old prefix of continuing action (= mi-) (می) | |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| bedin | with this, in this (= be in) (با این) | |
| shetâb | haste, hurry dictionary | |
| beshod | went, passed away (رفت / گذشت) dictionary | |
| یاد | yâd | memory dictionary |
| khoshash | sweet (+ its) dictionary | |
| bâd | may it be (old wish form of budan) (باشد) dictionary | |
| ruzegâr | time, days dictionary | |
| وصال | vesâl | union with the beloved dictionary |
| khod | self; here "and indeed, after all" dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| کرشمه | kereshme | flirtatious glance, coquetry (عشوه) |
| raft | went dictionary | |
| قرار | gharâr | calm, rest, peace of mind dictionary |
| khâb | sleep dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| tama' | expectation; greed dictionary | |
| مدار | madâr | do not have (old imperative of dâshtan) (نداشته باش) dictionary |
| کدام | kodâm | which dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 2. 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.