Ghazal 209 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
قتلِ این خسته به شمشیرِ تو تقدیر نبودور نه هیچ از دلِ بی‌رحمِ تو تقصیر نبود
ghatl-e in khaste be shamshir-e to taghdir nabud / var na hich az del-e birahm-e to taghsir nabud
Killing this wounded one with your sword was not what fate decreed; otherwise your merciless heart would have held nothing back.
COUPLET 2
منِ دیوانه چو زلفِ تو رها می‌کردمهیچ لایق‌ترم از حلقهٔ زنجیر نبود
man-e divâne cho zolf-e to rahâ mikardam / hich lâyeghtaram az halghe-ye zanjir nabud
When I, the madman, let go of your curls, nothing suited me better than the ring of a chain.
COUPLET 3
یا رب این آینهٔ حُسن چه جوهر دارد؟که در او آهِ مرا قُوَّتِ تأثیر نبود
yâ rab in âyene-ye hosn che jowhar dârad / ke dar u âh-e marâ ghovvat-e ta'sir nabud
O Lord, what is this mirror of beauty made of, that my sighs had no power to cloud it?
COUPLET 4
سر ز حسرت به درِ میکده‌ها بَرکردمچون شناسایِ تو در صومعه یک پیر نبود
sar ze hasrat be dar-e meykade-hâ barkardam / chon shenâsâ-ye to dar sowme'e yek pir nabud
Out of longing I turned up at the tavern doors, since in the cloister there was not a single elder who knew you.
COUPLET 5
نازنین‌تر ز قَدَت در چمنِ ناز نَرُستخوش‌تر از نقشِ تو در عالمِ تصویر نبود
nâzanintar ze ghadat dar chaman-e nâz narost / khoshtar az naghsh-e to dar âlam-e tasvir nabud
Nothing more graceful than your stature grew in the meadow of charm; nothing lovelier than your image existed in the world of forms.
COUPLET 6
تا مگر همچو صبا باز به کویِ تو رَسَمحاصلم دوش به جز نالهٔ شبگیر نبود
tâ magar hamcho sabâ bâz be ku-ye to rasam / hâselam dush be joz nâle-ye shabgir nabud
Hoping that, like the morning breeze, I might reach your street again, all I had last night was a lament before dawn.
COUPLET 7
آن کشیدم ز تو ای آتشِ هجران که چو شمعجز فنای خودم از دستِ تو تدبیر نبود
ân kashidam ze to ey âtash-e hejrân ke cho sham' / joz fanâ-ye khodam az dast-e to tadbir nabud
O fire of separation, I suffered so much from you that, like a candle, I had no way out but to burn myself away.
COUPLET 8
آیتی بود عذابْ اَنْدُهِ حافظ بی توکه بَرِ هیچ کَسَش حاجتِ تفسیر نبود
âyati bud azâb andoh-e Hâfez bi to / ke bar-e hich kasash hâjat-e tafsir nabud
Without you, the grief of Hafez was a verse of torment so plain that no one needed it explained.
What this fâl tells you
Your feelings are sincere and plain for all to see. Tradition reads this fal as comfort: what was not meant to happen did not happen, and that is a mercy. Look for understanding from people who truly know you rather than from formal places, and keep hoping, like the breeze that returns to the beloved's street.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: nabud ("was not"). qâfiye: -ir (taghdir, taghsir, zanjir, ta'sir, pir, tasvir, shabgir, tadbir, tafsir).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| قتل | ghatl | killing dictionary |
| in | this dictionary | |
| khaste | tired, wounded dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| shamshir | sword dictionary | |
| to | you dictionary | |
| taghdir | fate, destiny dictionary | |
| نبود | nabud | was not dictionary |
| ور | var | and if (= va agar) (و اگر) |
| نه | na | not, no dictionary |
| هیچ | hich | any; no dictionary |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| birahm | merciless dictionary | |
| taghsir | falling short, holding back dictionary | |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| divâne | madman dictionary | |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| zolf | curl, lock of hair dictionary | |
| rahâ | free; rahâ nakardan = not to leave dictionary | |
| می‌کردم | mikardam | I was doing; rahâ mikardam = I let go dictionary |
| لایق‌ترم | lâyeghtaram | more fitting for me dictionary |
| halghe | circle, ring dictionary | |
| zanjir | chain dictionary | |
| یا | yâ | O (vocative); or dictionary |
| âyene | mirror (آیینه) | |
| hosn | beauty dictionary | |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| jowhar | essence, substance; the sheen of a steel mirror dictionary | |
| dârad | has; (with arze) shows dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| u | him / her (Persian does not mark gender) dictionary | |
| مرا | marâ | me; for me (= man râ) (من را / برای من) |
| قوت | ghovvat | strength (قدرت) dictionary |
| sar | head; sar be kuh dâdan = to send someone off wandering dictionary | |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| میکده‌ها | meykade-hâ | taverns dictionary |
| چون | chon | since, when; like dictionary |
| sowme'e | cloister, hermitage (place of formal piety) dictionary | |
| یک | yek | one dictionary |
| پیر | pir | elder; spiritual master dictionary |
| نازنین‌تر | nâzanintar | more graceful, lovelier dictionary |
| قدت | ghadat | your stature dictionary |
| چمن | chaman | meadow, lawn dictionary |
| ناز | nâz | coquetry, airs dictionary |
| نرست | narost | did not grow dictionary |
| khoshtar | sweeter, more pleasant dictionary | |
| نقش | naghsh | image, shape dictionary |
| âlam | world dictionary | |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| مگر | magar | perhaps? could it be that? (in questions) dictionary |
| همچو | hamcho | like (مثل) |
| sabâ | the morning breeze, which carries messages between lovers in poetry (نسیم صبح) | |
| bâz | again dictionary | |
| کوی | ku-ye | street, quarter (of) (کوچه) |
| rasam | I may reach, I arrive dictionary | |
| hâselam | my yield, all I had dictionary | |
| dush | last night (دیشب) dictionary | |
| joz | except, besides dictionary | |
| نالهٔ | nâle | moan, lament dictionary |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| کشیدم | kashidam | I suffered, endured dictionary |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| sham' | candle dictionary | |
| fanâ | passing away, annihilation dictionary | |
| khodam | myself dictionary | |
| dast | hand dictionary | |
| tadbir | plan, course of action dictionary | |
| âyati | a verse (of the Quran), a sign dictionary | |
| bud | was dictionary | |
| azâb | torment dictionary | |
| andoh | grief (اندوه) | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| bi | without dictionary | |
| bar-e | before, in the eyes of (پیش) dictionary | |
| کسش | kasash | anyone (kas) + him (-ash) dictionary |
| hâjat | need (نیاز) | |
| tafsir | explanation, commentary dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 209. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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