Ghazal 483 of Hafez (11 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
سحرگه ره روی در سرزمینیهمی گفت این معما با قرینی
saharghah rahrovi dar sarzamini / hami goft in mo'ammâ bâ gharini
At dawn, in some land, a traveler on the path was telling this riddle to a companion:
COUPLET 2
که ای صوفی شراب آن گه شود صافکه در شیشه برآرد اربعینی
ke ey sufi sharâb ân gah shavad sâf / ke dar shishe barârad arba'ini
"O Sufi, wine becomes clear only when it has spent forty days in the bottle."
COUPLET 3
خدا زان خرقه بیزار است صد بارکه صد بت باشدش در آستینی
khodâ z-ân kherghe bizâr ast sad bâr / ke sad bot bâshadash dar âstini
God is a hundred times weary of that Sufi robe which hides a hundred idols in its sleeve.
COUPLET 4
مروت گر چه نامی بی‌نشان استنیازی عرضه کن بر نازنینی
morovvat garche nâmi bi-neshân ast / niyâzi arze kon bar nâzanini
Though kindness is a name with no trace left in the world, still offer your longing to some dear one.
COUPLET 5
ثوابت باشد ای دارای خرمناگر رحمی کنی بر خوشه‌چینی
savâbat bâshad ey dârâ-ye kharman / agar rahmi koni bar khushe-chini
O owner of the harvest, you will earn a reward if you show some mercy to a gleaner.
COUPLET 6
نمی‌بینم نشاط عیش در کسنه درمان دلی نه درد دینی
nemibinam neshât-e eysh dar kas / na darmân-e deli na dard-e dini
I see the joy of living in no one: neither a cure for any heart nor any pain for faith.
COUPLET 7
درون‌ها تیره شد باشد که از غیبچراغی برکند خلوت‌نشینی
darunhâ tire shod bâshad ke az gheyb / cherâghi barkonad khalvat-neshini
Hearts have grown dark; perhaps, from the unseen, some recluse will light a lamp.
COUPLET 8
گر انگشت سلیمانی نباشدچه خاصیت دهد نقش نگینی؟
gar angosht-e soleymâni nabâshad / che khâsiyat dahad naghsh-e negini
If there is no Solomon's finger, what power can the engraving on a ring stone give?
COUPLET 9
اگر چه رسم خوبان تندخویی‌ستچه باشد گر بسازد با غمینی؟
agarche rasm-e khubân tondkhuyi-st / che bâshad gar besâzad bâ ghamini
Though harshness is the custom of the beautiful, what harm would it do if one were kind to a sorrowful soul?
COUPLET 10
ره میخانه بنما تا بپرسممَآل خویش را از پیش‌بینی
rah-e meykhâne benmâ tâ beporsam / ma'âl-e khish râ az pish-bini
Show me the way to the tavern, so that I can ask a seer about my fate.
COUPLET 11
نه حافظ را حضور درس خلوتنه دانشمند را علم الیقینی
na Hâfez râ hozur-e dars-e khalvat / na dâneshmand râ elm-ol-yaghini
Hafez has no peace of heart for the lessons of solitude, and the scholar has no certain knowledge either.
What this fâl tells you
This fal says that good things ripen with time, like wine that must rest forty days before it is clear. Tradition reads it as advice to be patient and genuine rather than showy, and to be kind to those who ask little of you. In dark days a light may come from where you do not expect it.
A traditional-style reading for reflection and enjoyment.
How this ghazal is built
radif: none. qâfiye: -ini (sarzamini, gharini, arba'ini, âstini, nâzanini, khushe-chini, dini, neshini, negini, ghamini, pish-bini, yaghini).
Key words
| Word | Say it | Meaning (modern Persian) |
|---|---|---|
| sahargah | at dawn (سحرگاه) | |
| rovi | "rah-rovi": a traveler on the path (second part) (رهرو) dictionary | |
| dar | in; door dictionary | |
| sarzamini | a land, some country dictionary | |
| hami | old prefix of continuing action (= mi-) (می) | |
| گفت | goft | say (with natavân: cannot say); said dictionary |
| in | this dictionary | |
| bâ | with dictionary | |
| gharini | a companion dictionary | |
| ey | O (vocative) dictionary | |
| sharâb | wine dictionary | |
| ân | that dictionary | |
| گه | gah | time; har gah = whenever (= gâh) (گاه) |
| shavad | becomes dictionary | |
| sâf | clear, pure dictionary | |
| shishe | glass bottle dictionary | |
| khodâ | God; khodâ râ = for God's sake dictionary | |
| z-ân | from that (= az ân) (از آن) | |
| kherghe | dervish's cloak, Sufi robe dictionary | |
| bizâr | weary of, disgusted with dictionary | |
| ast | is dictionary | |
| sad | hundred dictionary | |
| bâr | time (sad bâr = a hundred times) dictionary | |
| bot | idol; the beautiful beloved dictionary | |
| bâshadash | may be for him dictionary | |
| âstini | a sleeve dictionary | |
| مروت | morovvat | generosity, humane kindness dictionary |
| گر | gar | if (= agar) (اگر) dictionary |
| چه | che | what; how much! dictionary |
| nâmi | name; nik-nâmi = good name, reputation dictionary | |
| bi-neshân | nameless, without a trace dictionary | |
| niyâzi | longing, need dictionary | |
| arze | showing; arze dâshtan = to show, present dictionary | |
| کن | kon | do! make! (imperative of kardan) dictionary |
| bar | on, upon dictionary | |
| nâzanini | a darling dictionary | |
| bâshad | perhaps (bâshad ke = maybe) dictionary | |
| dârâ-ye | owner of dictionary | |
| kharman | harvest, threshing heap dictionary | |
| agar | if dictionary | |
| rahmi | some mercy dictionary | |
| koni | you do, you make dictionary | |
| نمی‌بینم | nemibinam | I do not see dictionary |
| نشاط | neshât | joy, high spirits dictionary |
| eysh | pleasure, enjoyment dictionary | |
| کس | kas | anyone; with negative: no one dictionary |
| نه | na | not, no dictionary |
| darmân | cure, remedy dictionary | |
| deli | a heart dictionary | |
| dard | pain dictionary | |
| dini | a faith, religion dictionary | |
| darunhâ | hearts, inner selves dictionary | |
| tire | dark dictionary | |
| shod | become (with khâhad: will become); became dictionary | |
| cherâghi | a lamp dictionary | |
| barkonad | lights (a lamp) (روشن کند) | |
| angosht | finger dictionary | |
| نباشد | nabâshad | is not, will not be dictionary |
| khâsiyat | power, effect dictionary | |
| dahad | gives, may give dictionary | |
| نقش | naghsh | image, shape dictionary |
| rasm | custom, way dictionary | |
| khubân | the beautiful ones (زیبارویان) | |
| besâzad | gets along, is kind dictionary | |
| rah | road, way (short for râh) (راه) | |
| میخانه | meykhâne | tavern dictionary |
| benamâ | show! (نشان بده) dictionary | |
| tâ | to, until; so that dictionary | |
| beporsam | I ask dictionary | |
| مآل | ma'âl | outcome, fate (سرانجام) |
| khish | one's own (خود) dictionary | |
| pish-bini | a seer, one who sees ahead dictionary | |
| Hâfez | Hafez, the poet's pen name (takhallos); literally "one who knows the Quran by heart" dictionary | |
| hozur | presence (of heart) dictionary | |
| dars | lesson, study dictionary | |
| khalvat | private room, solitude dictionary | |
| dâneshmand | scholar, learned man dictionary | |
| elm | knowledge dictionary | |
| al-yaghini | of certainty; elm-ol-yaghin = certain knowledge (Arabic) dictionary |
Persian text: Ganjoor (ganjoor.net), Hafez, ghazal 483. 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.