Ghazal 234 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
چو آفتاب مِی از مشرقِ پیاله برآیدز باغِ عارِضِ ساقی هزار لاله برآید
cho âftâb-e mey az mashregh-e piyâle bar âyad / ze bâgh-e âraz-e sâghi hezâr lâle bar âyad
When the sun of wine rises from the east of the cup, a thousand tulips bloom in the garden of the cupbearer's cheek.
COUPLET 2
نسیم در سرِ گُل بشکند کُلالهٔ سنبلچو از میانِ چمن بویِ آن کُلاله برآید
nasim dar sar-e gol beshkanad kolâle-ye sonbol / cho az miyân-e chaman bu-ye ân kolâle bar âyad
The breeze will crumple the hyacinth's curl over the rose's head when the scent of that curl of yours rises from the meadow.
COUPLET 3
حکایتِ شبِ هجران نه آن حکایتِ حالیستکه شَمِّه‌ای ز بَیانش به صد رساله برآید
hekâyat-e shab-e hejrân na ân hekâyat-e hâlist / ke shamme-i ze bayânash be sad resâle bar âyad
The tale of the night of separation is not a story of the kind whose smallest part could be told in a hundred treatises.
COUPLET 4
ز گِردِ خوانِ نگونِ فلک طمع نتوان داشتکه بی مَلالتِ صد غُصه، یک نَواله برآید
ze gerd-e khân-e negun-e falak tama' natavân dâsht / ke bi malâlat-e sad ghosse yek navâle bar âyad
From around the upturned table of the sky, do not expect a single morsel to come without the weariness of a hundred sorrows.
COUPLET 5
به سعیِ خود نتوان بُرد پِی به گوهرِ مقصودخیال باشد کاین کار بی حواله برآید
be sa'y-e khod natavân bord pey be gowhar-e maghsud / khiyâl bâshad k-in kâr bi havâle bar âyad
By your own effort alone you cannot track down the pearl of your goal; it is a fantasy to think this can be done without help from above.
COUPLET 6
گرت چو نوحِ نبی صبر هست در غمِ طوفانبلا بگردد و کامِ هزارساله برآید
garat cho nuh-e nabi sabr hast dar gham-e tufân / balâ begardad o kâm-e hezârsâle bar âyad
If, like the prophet Noah, you have patience in the grief of the flood, misfortune will turn away and a wish a thousand years old will come true.
COUPLET 7
نسیمِ زلفِ تو چون بگذرد به تربتِ حافظز خاکِ کالبدش صد هزار لاله برآید
nasim-e zolf-e to chon bogzarad be torbat-e Hâfez / ze khâk-e kâlbadash sad hezâr lâle bar âyad
When the breeze from your curls passes over the grave of Hafez, a hundred thousand tulips will spring from the dust of his body.
What this fâl tells you
This is one of the best-loved hopeful fals: be patient like Noah in the storm, and the trouble will turn away and a long-held wish will come true. Tradition adds that effort alone is not enough; success also needs grace, so work steadily and trust. Joy will bloom like a thousand tulips.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: bar âyad ("rises, comes out, comes true"). qâfiye: -âle (piyâle, lâle, kolâle, resâle, navâle, havâle, hezârsâle).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| âftâb | sun dictionary | |
| mey | wine (شراب) dictionary | |
| مشرق | mashregh | east dictionary |
| پیاله | piyâle | cup dictionary |
| bar âyad | rises; comes true; comes out (برمی‌آید) | |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| bâgh | garden dictionary | |
| âraz | cheek (گونه) | |
| sâghi | cupbearer dictionary | |
| هزار | hezâr | thousand; also "nightingale" (hezâr-dastân) dictionary |
| نسیم | nasim | breeze dictionary |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| sar | head; sar be kuh dâdan = to send someone off wandering dictionary | |
| گل | gol | rose; flower dictionary |
| beshkanad | breaks, crumples dictionary | |
| میان | miyân | middle dictionary |
| چمن | chaman | meadow, lawn dictionary |
| bu-ye | scent of (ezafe) dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| hekâyat | tale dictionary | |
| shab | night dictionary | |
| نه | na | not, no dictionary |
| hâlist | (a tale of) a state (= hâli ast) dictionary | |
| bayânash | its telling dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| sad | hundred dictionary | |
| khân | tray of food, feast laid out (سفره) | |
| نگون | negun | bowed, upside down (سرنگون) |
| فلک | falak | the sky, the heavens; fate dictionary |
| tama' | expectation; greed dictionary | |
| dâsht | had dictionary | |
| bi | without dictionary | |
| ghosse | sorrow, worry dictionary | |
| یک | yek | one dictionary |
| sa'y | effort dictionary | |
| khod | one's own dictionary | |
| bord | carry; pey bordan = to find, track down dictionary | |
| pey | after; pey-e kâri gereftan = to go off about some business dictionary | |
| گوهر | gowhar | pearl, jewel dictionary |
| مقصود | maghsud | goal, what one longs for dictionary |
| khiyâl | fancy, notion dictionary | |
| bâshad | may it be; bâshad ke = perhaps, so that maybe dictionary | |
| کاین | k-in | that these (= ke in) (که این) |
| کار | kâr | work; affair, matter dictionary |
| havâle | referred, entrusted dictionary | |
| گرت | garat | if ... you (= agar to-râ) (اگر به تو) |
| nabi | prophet dictionary | |
| sabr | patience dictionary | |
| هست | hast | there is dictionary |
| gham | sorrow, grief dictionary | |
| tufân | flood, storm dictionary | |
| balâ | trouble, misfortune dictionary | |
| begardad | turns away dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| کام | kâm | wish, desire; be kâm = as one wishes dictionary |
| zolf | curl, lock of hair dictionary | |
| to | you dictionary | |
| چون | chon | since, when; like dictionary |
| bogzarad | passes dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| khâk | dust, earth dictionary | |
| کالبدش | kâlbadash | his body dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 234. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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