Ghazal 312 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.
Read it word by wordTake your own fâl
COUPLET 1
بُشری اِذِ السَّلامةُ حَلَّت بِذی سَلَملِلّهِ حمدُ مُعتَرِفٍ غایةَ النِّعَم
boshrâ ezes-salâmato hallat be-zi salam / lellâhe hamdo mo'tarefin ghâyatan-ne'am
(Arabic) Good news! Safety has come to dwell at Dhu Salam. Praise be to God: the praise of one who knows the fullness of His blessings.
COUPLET 2
آن خوش خبر کجاست؟ که این فتح، مژده دادتا جان فِشانَمَش چو زر و سیم در قَدَم
ân khosh khabar kojâst ke in fath mozhde dâd / tâ jân feshânamash cho zar o sim dar ghadam
Where is the bearer of glad tidings who announced this victory, so that I may scatter my soul at his feet like gold and silver?
COUPLET 3
از بازگشتِ شاه در این طُرفِه منزل استآهنگِ خصم او به سراپردهٔ عَدَم
az bâzgasht-e shâh dar in torfe manzel ast / âhang-e khasm-e u be sarâparde-ye adam
With the king's return to this wondrous dwelling, his enemy is now headed for the pavilion of nothingness.
COUPLET 4
پیمان شکن هرآینه گَردَد شکسته حالانَّ العُهودَ عِندَ مَلیکِ النُّهی ذِمَم
peymân-shekan har âyene gardad shekaste-hâl / ennal-ohuda enda malikin-nohâ zemam
Whoever breaks a pledge will surely end up broken; (Arabic) for to a king of wisdom, pledges are sacred bonds.
COUPLET 5
می‌جست از سحابِ اَمل رحمتی ولیجز دیده‌اش مُعاینه بیرون نداد نَم
mijost az sahâb-e amal rahmati vali / joz dide-ash mo'âyene birun nadâd nam
He looked to the cloud of hope for a rain of mercy, but plainly nothing gave out moisture except his own eyes.
COUPLET 6
در نیلِ غم فُتاد؛ سپهرش به طنز گفتالآنَ قَد نَدِمتَ و ما یَنفَعُ النَّدَم؟
dar neyl-e gham fetâd sepehrash be tanz goft / al'âna ghad nademta va mâ yanfa'on-nadam
He fell into a Nile of grief, and heaven said to him mockingly: (Arabic) "Now you regret it, but what use is regret?"
COUPLET 7
ساقی چو یارِ مَه رخ و از اهلِ راز بودحافظ بخورد باده و شیخ و فقیه هم
sâghi cho yâr-e mahrokh o az ahl-e râz bud / Hâfez bekhord bâde o sheykh o faghih ham
Since the cupbearer was a moon-faced friend who shared the secret, Hafez drank wine, and so did the sheikh and the jurist.
What this fâl tells you
Good news of safety and return runs through this fal. Tradition reads it as a sign that a difficult period is ending and that someone or something dear is coming back. Keep your promises, for broken pledges break the one who breaks them, and celebrate the turn with those who share your secret.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: none. qâfiye: -am (salam, ne'am, ghadam, adam, zemam, nam, nadam, ham). Beyt 1 and the second halves of beyts 4 and 6 are Arabic. Usually read as a poem on Shah Shoja's return to Shiraz.
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| as-salâmato | safety, well-being (Arabic) dictionary | |
| an-ne'am | the blessings (Arabic) dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| khosh | well, sweetly; pleasant dictionary | |
| khabar | news dictionary | |
| in | this dictionary | |
| فتح | fath | conquest, victory dictionary |
| dâd | gave dictionary | |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| jân | life, soul dictionary | |
| فشانمش | feshânamash | I scatter (my soul) for him dictionary |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| zar | gold dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| sim | silver dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| قدم | ghadam | step dictionary |
| bâzgasht | return; a turn in music dictionary | |
| shâh | king dictionary | |
| منزل | manzel | stopping place, lodging; house dictionary |
| ast | is dictionary | |
| âhang | intention; âhang-e chizi sâz kardan = to set out for something dictionary | |
| khasm | enemy, rival (دشمن) dictionary | |
| u | him / her (Persian does not mark gender) dictionary | |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| adam | nothingness, non-being dictionary | |
| پیمان | peymân | vow, pledge dictionary |
| shekan | breaker (peymân-shekan = pledge-breaker) dictionary | |
| گردد | gardad | becomes (بشود) dictionary |
| shekaste | broken; bent dictionary | |
| hâl | state, condition dictionary | |
| al-ohuda | pledges, covenants (Arabic) dictionary | |
| می‌جست | mijost | was seeking dictionary |
| sahâb | cloud (Arabic) (ابر) | |
| amal | hope, long-held wish (آرزو) | |
| rahmati | a mercy, a blessing (of rain) dictionary | |
| vali | but dictionary | |
| joz | except, besides dictionary | |
| معاینه | mo'âyene | plainly, before one's eyes dictionary |
| birun | outside dictionary | |
| نداد | nadâd | did not give dictionary |
| نم | nam | moisture, wetness dictionary |
| نیل | neyl | the Nile; also "attaining" (a pun) dictionary |
| gham | sorrow, grief dictionary | |
| فتاد | fetâd | fell, landed (افتاد) dictionary |
| sepehrash | heaven (+ "to him") dictionary | |
| tanz | mockery, irony dictionary | |
| گفت | goft | say (with natavân: cannot say); said dictionary |
| قد | ghad | (Arabic particle) indeed, already dictionary |
| ما | mâ | what (Arabic; mâ yanfa' = what use is) dictionary |
| sâghi | cupbearer dictionary | |
| یار | yâr | beloved; friend dictionary |
| مه | mah | moon (= mâh) (ماه) |
| rokh | face, cheek dictionary | |
| ahl | people (of) dictionary | |
| râz | secret dictionary | |
| bud | was dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| bekhord | drank dictionary | |
| bâde | wine dictionary | |
| sheykh | sheikh, religious elder dictionary | |
| فقیه | faghih | jurist, expert in religious law dictionary |
| هم | ham | also, too dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 312. 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.