Ghazal 47 of Hafez (9 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
به کویِ میکده هر سالِکی که رَه دانستدری دگر زدن اندیشهٔ تَبَه دانست
be ku-ye meykade har sâleki ke rah dânest / dari degar zadan andishe-ye tabah dânest
Every seeker who found the way to the tavern's street knew that knocking at any other door was a ruinous thought.
COUPLET 2
زمانه افسر رندی نداد جز به کسیکه سرفرازیِ عالَم در این کُلَه دانست
zamâne afsar-e rendi nadâd joz be kasi / ke sarfarâzi-ye âlam dar in kolah dânest
Fortune gave the crown of the free spirits only to one who knew that the world's true honor lies in this cap.
COUPLET 3
بر آستانهٔ میخانه هر که یافت رَهیز فیضِ جامِ مِی اَسرار خانقَه دانست
bar âstâne-ye meykhâne har ke yâft rahi / ze feyz-e jâm-e mey asrâr-e khâneghah dânest
Whoever found a way to the tavern's threshold learned the secrets of the Sufi lodge through the grace of the wine cup.
COUPLET 4
هر آن که رازِ دو عالم ز خطِ ساغَر خواندرُموزِ جامِ جم از نقشِ خاکِ ره دانست
har ân ke râz-e do âlam ze khatt-e sâghar khând / romuz-e jâm-e jam az naghsh-e khâk-e rah dânest
Whoever read the secret of both worlds in the lines of the cup understood the mysteries of Jamshid's cup from the patterns in the dust of the road.
COUPLET 5
ورایِ طاعتِ دیوانگان ز ما مَطَلَبکه شیخِ مذهبِ ما عاقلی گُنَه دانست
varâ-ye tâ'at-e divânegân ze mâ matalab / ke sheykh-e mazhab-e mâ âgheli gonah dânest
Do not ask us for anything beyond the devotion of madmen, for the elder of our creed held being sensible to be a sin.
COUPLET 6
دلم ز نرگسِ ساقی اَمان نخواست به جانچرا که شیوهٔ آن تُرکِ دل سیه دانست
delam ze narges-e sâghi amân nakhâst be jân / cherâ ke shive-ye ân tork-e del-siyah dânest
My heart did not ask the cupbearer's narcissus eyes to spare its life, because it knew the ways of that black-hearted Turk.
COUPLET 7
ز جورِ کوکبِ طالع ،سَحَرگَهان چشممچنان گریست که ناهید دید و مَه دانست
ze jowr-e kowkab-e tâle' sahargahân cheshmam / chenân gerist ke nâhid did o mah dânest
From the cruelty of my star of fortune, my eyes wept so hard at dawn that Venus saw it and the moon knew.
COUPLET 8
حدیثِ حافظ و ساغر که می‌زند پنهانچه جایِ محتسب و شِحنه، پادشَه دانست
hadis-e Hâfez o sâghar ke mizanad penhân / che jâ-ye mohtaseb o shahne, pâdshah dânest
The story of Hafez and the cup he drinks in secret: never mind the morals officer and the watchman, even the king knows it.
COUPLET 9
بلندمرتبه شاهی که نُه رِواقِ سِپِهرنمونه‌ای ز خَمِ طاقِ بارگَه دانست
boland-martabe shâhi ke noh ravâgh-e sepehr / nemune'i ze kham-e tâgh-e bârgah dânest
A king of such high rank that he took the nine arches of heaven as a mere model of the curve of his court's vault.
What this fâl tells you
The door you are looking for is the one your heart already knows; do not wander from door to door. Tradition reads this fal as advice to trust a path of sincere feeling over cold calculation. What you do quietly will become known and, in time, honored.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: dânest ("knew"). qâfiye: -ah (rah, tabah, kolah, khâneghah, gonah, siyah, mah, pâdshah, bârgah).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| be | to; for; with; in, by dictionary | |
| کوی | ku-ye | street, quarter (of) (کوچه) |
| میکده | meykade | tavern dictionary |
| هر | har | every dictionary |
| sâleki | a seeker, a traveler on the spiritual path dictionary | |
| rah | road, way (short for râh) (راه) | |
| dânest | knew dictionary | |
| dari | a door, a doorway dictionary | |
| degar | again; other (= digar) (دیگر) | |
| zadan | to knock (at a door) dictionary | |
| andishe | thought dictionary | |
| tabah | ruined (تباه) | |
| afsar | crown dictionary | |
| rendi | free-spirited life of the "rend" (a rogue who scorns hypocrisy) dictionary | |
| نداد | nadâd | did not give dictionary |
| joz | except, besides dictionary | |
| kasi | someone; har kasi = everyone dictionary | |
| âlam | world dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| in | this dictionary | |
| کله | kolah | cap, crown (کلاه) |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| âstâne | threshold dictionary | |
| میخانه | meykhâne | tavern dictionary |
| یافت | yâft | find (with nakhâhi: will not find) (پیدا کرد) dictionary |
| ze | from, of (= az) (از) | |
| فیض | feyz | grace, abundance dictionary |
| jâm | cup dictionary | |
| mey | wine (شراب) dictionary | |
| asrâr | secrets dictionary | |
| khâneghah | Sufi lodge (خانقاه) | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| râz | secret dictionary | |
| do | two dictionary | |
| khatt | line; khatt-e sâghar = the measuring lines on a wine cup dictionary | |
| sâghar | cup dictionary | |
| khând | sang, read; called dictionary | |
| romuz | mysteries, secret signs dictionary | |
| نقش | naghsh | image, shape dictionary |
| khâk | dust, earth dictionary | |
| divânegân | madmen dictionary | |
| ما | mâ | we, us; our dictionary |
| مطلب | matalab | do not ask for, do not seek (نخواه) dictionary |
| sheykh | sheikh, religious elder dictionary | |
| مذهب | mazhab | creed, religion dictionary |
| âgheli | being sensible, rationality dictionary | |
| گنه | gonah | sin (گناه) |
| delam | my heart dictionary | |
| نرگس | narges | narcissus (image of the beloved's languid eye) dictionary |
| sâghi | cupbearer dictionary | |
| amân | mercy, safety dictionary | |
| نخواست | nakhâst | did not ask for dictionary |
| jân | life, soul dictionary | |
| چرا | cherâ | why dictionary |
| shive | manner, way dictionary | |
| del | heart dictionary | |
| siyah | black (سیاه) | |
| کوکب | kowkab | star; kowkab-e tâle' = star of one's fortune dictionary |
| tâle' | horoscope, fate, fortune (بخت) dictionary | |
| چشمم | cheshmam | my eye dictionary |
| چنان | chenân | so, in such a way dictionary |
| گریست | gerist | wept dictionary |
| did | saw dictionary | |
| و | va / o | and dictionary |
| مه | mah | moon (= mâh) (ماه) |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| می‌زند | mizanad | strikes dictionary |
| پنهان | penhân | hidden dictionary |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| jâ-ye | place of; che jâ-ye ... = never mind, let alone dictionary | |
| پادشه | pâdshah | king (پادشاه) |
| shâhi | a king dictionary | |
| نه | noh | nine dictionary |
| sepehr | sky, the heavens dictionary | |
| nemune'i | a sample, a model dictionary | |
| tâgh | arch, vault dictionary | |
| bârgah | court, royal hall (بارگاه) |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 47. Transliteration, translation, glosses and reading: Learn Persian Online.
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