Ghazal 32 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
خدا چو صورتِ ابرویِ دلگشای تو بستگشادِ کارِ من اندر کرشمه‌هایِ تو بست
khodâ cho surat-e abru-ye delgoshâ-ye to bast / goshâd-e kâr-e man andar kereshme-hâ-ye to bast
When God shaped your heart-gladdening eyebrow, He tied the success of my affairs to your flirtatious glances.
COUPLET 2
مرا و سروِ چمن را به خاکِ راه نشاندزمانه تا قَصَبِ نرگسِ قبای تو بست
marâ o sarv-e chaman râ be khâk-e râh neshând / zamâne tâ ghasab-e narges-ghabâ-ye to bast
Ever since time fastened the fine linen of your narcissus-colored robe, it has sat me and the garden cypress down in the dust of the road.
COUPLET 3
ز کارِ ما و دلِ غنچه صد گره بگشودنسیمِ گل چو دل اندر پیِ هوایِ تو بست
ze kâr-e mâ o del-e ghonche sad gereh bogshud / nasim-e gol cho del andar pey-e havâ-ye to bast
The breeze from the roses untied a hundred knots in my affairs and in the rosebud's heart once it set its heart on longing for you.
COUPLET 4
مرا به بندِ تو دورانِ چرخ راضی کردولی چه سود که سررشته در رضای تو بست
marâ be band-e to dowrân-e charkh râzi kard / vali che sud ke sar-reshte dar rezâ-ye to bast
The turning of the heavens made me content to be your captive, but what use is that, when it tied the end of the thread to your will?
COUPLET 5
چو نافه بر دلِ مسکینِ من گره مَفِکنکه عهد با سرِ زلفِ گره‌گشایِ تو بست
cho nâfe bar del-e meskin-e man gereh mafkan / ke ahd bâ sar-e zolf-e gereh-goshâ-ye to bast
Do not tie a knot in my poor heart like a pod of musk, for it has made its pact with the tip of your knot-loosening hair.
COUPLET 6
تو خود وصالِ دگر بودی ای نسیمِ وصالخطا نِگر که دل امید در وفایِ تو بست
to khod vesâl-e degar budi ey nasim-e vesâl / khatâ negar ke del omid dar vafâ-ye to bast
You were a different kind of union, O breeze of union. Look at my error: my heart put its hope in your loyalty.
COUPLET 7
ز دستِ جورِ تو گفتم زِ شهر خواهم رفتبه خنده گفت که حافظ برو، که پایِ تو بست؟
ze dast-e jowr-e to goftam ze shahr khâham raft / be khande goft ke Hâfez borow, ke pâ-ye to bast?
Because of your cruelty, I said I would leave the city. You laughed and said, "Go, Hafez. Who tied your feet?"
What this fâl tells you
Your affairs seem tied to someone else's will, and you may feel stuck. Tradition reads this fal as a gentle reminder that no one has tied your feet: you are freer than you think. A breeze of good fortune can untie many knots at once, so stay hopeful but do not hang everything on one person's promise.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: -â-ye to bast ("tied ... your"). qâfiye: -â (delgoshâ, kereshme-hâ, ghabâ, havâ, rezâ, goshâ, vafâ, pâ).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| khodâ | God; khodâ râ = for God's sake dictionary | |
| چو | cho | since, when; like (= chon) (چون) |
| surat | outward appearance, form dictionary | |
| abru-ye | eyebrow of dictionary | |
| to | you dictionary | |
| bast | tied, fastened; shaped (surat bastan) dictionary | |
| گشاد | goshâd | opening; goshâd-e kâr = success in one's affairs (گشایش) dictionary |
| کار | kâr | work; affair, matter dictionary |
| من | man | I, me dictionary |
| andar | in (= dar) (در) | |
| مرا | marâ | me; for me (= man râ) (من را / برای من) |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| sarv | cypress (image of a tall beloved) dictionary | |
| چمن | chaman | meadow, lawn dictionary |
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| khâk | dust, earth dictionary | |
| râh | way, road dictionary | |
| نشاند | neshând | seated, set down dictionary |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| نرگس | narges | narcissus (image of the beloved's languid eye) dictionary |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| ما | mâ | we, us; our dictionary |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| ghonche | bud, rosebud dictionary | |
| sad | hundred dictionary | |
| bogshud | opened, untied (گشود) dictionary | |
| نسیم | nasim | breeze dictionary |
| گل | gol | rose; flower dictionary |
| پی | pey | after; pey-e kâri gereftan = to go off about some business dictionary |
| هوای | havâ-ye | longing for, desire for dictionary |
| band | rope, bond dictionary | |
| چرخ | charkh | wheel; the sky as a turning wheel dictionary |
| râzi | content, satisfied dictionary | |
| کرد | kard | do (with tavân: can do) dictionary |
| vali | but dictionary | |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| sud | profit, gain dictionary | |
| sar-reshte-ye | end of the thread of, control of dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| مسکین | meskin | poor, wretched dictionary |
| مفکن | mafekan | do not cast (نینداز) dictionary |
| ahd | pact, promise; ahd bastan = to make a pact dictionary | |
| bâ | with dictionary | |
| sar | head; sar be kuh dâdan = to send someone off wandering dictionary | |
| zolf | curl, lock of hair dictionary | |
| khod | self; here "and indeed, after all" dictionary | |
| وصال | vesâl | union with the beloved dictionary |
| degar | again; other (= digar) (دیگر) | |
| budi | would be (wish form) dictionary | |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| khatâ | error, mistake dictionary | |
| نگر | negar | look! see! (ببین) dictionary |
| omid | hope dictionary | |
| dast | hand dictionary | |
| گفتم | goftam | I said dictionary |
| shahr | city dictionary | |
| khâham | I will (future auxiliary) dictionary | |
| raft | went dictionary | |
| khande | laughter dictionary | |
| گفت | goft | say (with natavân: cannot say); said dictionary |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| borow | go! dictionary | |
| پای | pâ | foot; az pâ oftâdan = to collapse dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 32. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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