Ghazal 232 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
بر سرِ آنم که گر ز دست برآیددست به‌کاری زنم که غصّه سرآید
bar sar-e ânam ke gar ze dast bar âyad / dast be kâri zanam ke ghosse sar âyad
I have made up my mind: if I can manage it, I will set my hand to something that brings sorrow to an end.
COUPLET 2
خلوتِ دل نیست جایِ صحبتِ اَضداددیو چو بیرون رود فرشته درآید
khalvat-e del nist jâ-ye sohbat-e azdâd / div cho birun ravad fereshte dar âyad
The private room of the heart is no place for opposites to keep company: when the demon goes out, the angel comes in.
COUPLET 3
صحبت حُکّام ظلمتِ شبِ یلداستنور ز خورشید جوی بو که برآید
sohbat-e hokkâm zolmat-e shab-e yaldâst / nur ze khorshid ju, bu ke bar âyad
The company of rulers is as dark as Yalda night. Look to the sun for light: perhaps it will rise.
COUPLET 4
بر درِ اربابِ بی‌مروّتِ دنیاچند نشینی که خواجه کی به درآید
bar dar-e arbâb-e bimorovvat-e donyâ / chand neshini ke khâje key be dar âyad
How long will you sit at the doors of the world's ungenerous lords, waiting for the master to come out?
COUPLET 5
تَرکِ گدایی مکن که گنج بیابیاز نظرِ رهرُوی که در گذر آید
tark-e gedâyi makon ke ganj biyâbi / az nazar-e rahrovi ke dar gozar âyad
Do not give up the beggar's humble way: you may find treasure in the glance of a traveller passing by.
COUPLET 6
صالح و طالِح مَتاعِ خویش نمودندتا که قبول افتد و که در نظر آید
sâleh o tâleh matâ'-e khish nemudand / tâ ke ghabul oftad o ke dar nazar âyad
The good and the bad have both shown their wares; we shall see whose will be accepted and whose will catch the eye.
COUPLET 7
بلبلِ عاشق تو عمر خواه که آخِرباغ شود سبز و شاخِ گُل به برآید
bolbol-e âshegh to omr khâh ke âkher / bâgh shavad sabz o shâkh-e gol be bar âyad
Lovesick nightingale, pray for long life: in the end the garden will turn green and the rose branch will bloom.
COUPLET 8
غفلتِ حافظ در این سراچه عجب نیستهر که به میخانه رفت بی‌خبر آید
gheflat-e Hâfez dar in sarâche ajab nist / har ke be meykhâne raft bikhabar âyad
No wonder Hafez is heedless in this little house of the world: whoever goes to the tavern comes back unaware.
What this fâl tells you
You are ready to act, and this fal supports you: set your hand to something that will end your worry. Tradition reads it as a sign to stop waiting at doors that will not open and to trust that spring will come to your garden. Clear out what is negative, and something good will take its place.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: âyad ("comes"). qâfiye: -ar (bar, sar, dar, gozar, nazar). Beyt 3 mentions shab-e Yaldâ, the longest night of the year.
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| sar | head; sar be kuh dâdan = to send someone off wandering dictionary | |
| گر | gar | if (= agar) (اگر) dictionary |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| dast | hand dictionary | |
| bar âyad | rises; comes true; comes out (برمی‌آید) | |
| be kâri | to a task (dast be kâri zadan = to undertake something) dictionary | |
| zanam | I strike; dast zadan = to set one's hand to dictionary | |
| ghosse | sorrow, worry dictionary | |
| sar âyad | comes to an end (تمام می‌شود) | |
| khalvat | private room, solitude dictionary | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| نیست | nist | is not; there is not dictionary |
| jâ-ye | place of; be jâ-ye = toward, for (someone) (در حق) dictionary | |
| sohbat | company, companionship (classical sense) dictionary | |
| azdâd | opposites dictionary | |
| div | demon dictionary | |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| birun | outside dictionary | |
| ravad | goes (برود) dictionary | |
| فرشته | fereshte | angel dictionary |
| hokkâm | rulers (حاکمان) dictionary | |
| shab | night dictionary | |
| نور | nur | light dictionary |
| ju | seek! (= bejuy) (بجوی) dictionary | |
| bu | perhaps (bovad); bu ke = in the hope that (بود که / شاید) dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| arbâb | lords, masters dictionary | |
| donyâ | world dictionary | |
| چند | chand | how long, how much dictionary |
| neshini | you sit dictionary | |
| khâje | master, lord dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| مکن | makon | do not do! (نکن) dictionary |
| گنج | ganj | treasure dictionary |
| biyâbi | you find dictionary | |
| نظر | nazar | sight; ahl-e nazar = people of insight, connoisseurs of beauty dictionary |
| rahrovi | a traveller on the path dictionary | |
| گذر | gozar | passage dictionary |
| âyad | comes, will come (می‌آید) dictionary | |
| sâleh | good, righteous dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| khish | one's own (خود) dictionary | |
| نمودند | nemudand | (they) showed dictionary |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| قبول | ghabul | acceptance; ghabul-e khâter = being loved by people dictionary |
| oftad | falls; ghabul oftâdan = to be accepted (بیفتد) dictionary | |
| bolbol | nightingale dictionary | |
| âshegh | lover dictionary | |
| to | you dictionary | |
| omr | life, lifetime dictionary | |
| khâh | ask for! want! (بخواه) dictionary | |
| bâgh | garden dictionary | |
| shavad | becomes dictionary | |
| sabz | green dictionary | |
| shâkh | branch; shâkh-e nabât = a stick of rock candy (also the name tradition gives Hafez's beloved) dictionary | |
| گل | gol | rose; flower dictionary |
| gheflat | heedlessness dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| in | this dictionary | |
| ajab | wonder, strange dictionary | |
| هر | har | every dictionary |
| میخانه | meykhâne | tavern dictionary |
| raft | went dictionary | |
| bikhabar | unaware dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 232. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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