Hafez Quotes

Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.

For a day, just for one day, Talk about that which disturbs no one And bring some peace into your Beautiful eyes.

For I have learned that every heart will get What it prays for Most.

The Earth would die If the sun stopped kissing her.

The heart is a The thousand-stringed instrument That can only be tuned with Love.

Run my dear, From anything That may not strengthen Your precious budding wings.

I caught the happy virus last night When I was out singing beneath the stars. It is remarkably contagious - So kiss me.

I should not make any promises right now, But I know if you Pray Somewhere in this world - Something good will happen.

I have no use for divine patience - My lips are now burning and everywhere. I am running from every corner of this earth and sky Wanting to kiss you.

Listen: this world is the lunatic's sphere, Don't always agree it's real, Even with my feet upon it And the postman knowing my door My address is somewhere else.

Let's get loose With Compassion, Let's drown in the delicious Ambience of Love.

My dear, Is it true that your mind is sometimes like a battering Ram Running all through the city, Shouting so madly inside and out About the ten thousand things That do not matter?

Not loving is a letting go. Listen, The terrain around here Is Far too Dangerous For That.

What Do sad people have in Common? It seems They have all built a shrine To the past And often go there And do a strange wail and Worship. What is the beginning of Happiness? It is to stop being So religious Like That.

Sometimes I say to a poem, "I don't have the strength To wring out another drop Of the sun." And the poem will often Respond By climbing onto a barroom table: Then lifts its skirt, winks, Causing the whole sky to Fall.

Run my dear, From anything That may not strengthen Your precious budding wings. Run like hell my dear, From anyone likely To put a sharp knife Into the sacred, tender vision Of your beautiful heart.

TRIPPING OVER JOY What is the difference Between your experience of Existence And that of a saint? The saint knows That the spiritual path Is a sublime chess game with God And that the Beloved Has just made such a Fantastic Move That the saint is now continually Tripping over Joy And bursting out in Laughter And saying, “I Surrender!” Whereas, my dear, I am afraid you still think You have a thousand serious moves.

I wish I could show you, When you are lonely or in darkness, The Astonishing Light Of your own Being!

Lean your sweet neck and mouth Out of that dark nest where you hide, I will pour effulgence into your mind.

In many parts of this world water is Scarce and precious. People sometimes have to walk A great distance Then carry heavy jugs upon their Heads. Because of our wisdom, we will travel Far for love. All movement is a sign of Thirst. Most speaking really says "I am hungry to know you." Every desire of your body is holy; Every desire of your body is Holy. Dear one, Why wait until you are dying To discover that divine Truth?

Forget your voice, sing! Forget your feet, dance! Forget your life, live! Forget yourself and be!

When all your desires are distilled You will cast just two votes: To love more, And be happy.

I wish I could show you, when you are lonely or in darkness, the astonishing light of your being.

So I will always lean my heart as close to your soul as I can.

All your wounds from craving love Exist because of heroic deeds.

Start seeing everything as God, But keep it a secret

How Did the rose Ever open its heart And give to this world All its Beauty? It felt the encouragement of light Against its Being. Otherwise, We all remain Too Frightened

You know how it goes: at some point in your life, you fell in love with someone and had a glimpse of God. Then you abandoned life and lover and started celebrating your love for God.

You have taken root in the Beloved. I love your golden branches And the hundred graceful movements Your body now makes each time The wind, children and love come near.

We should make all spiritual talk Simple today: God is trying to sell you something, But you don’t want to buy. That is what your suffering is: Your fantastic haggling, Your manic screaming over the price!

Lovers Don't tell all of their Secrets. They might Count each other's moles That reside in the shy Regions, Then keep that tally strictly To themselves. God and I Have signe a contract To be even more intimate than That! Though a clause Mentions Something about not drawing detailed maps To all His beautiful Laughing Moles.

Your soul once sat on an easel on my knee. For ages I hve been sketching you With myriad shapes of sounds and light; Now awake, dear pilgrim, With your thousand swaying arms That need to caress the sky.

Here soar Not with wings But with your moving hands and feet And sweating brows - Standing by your Beloved's side Reaching out to comfort this world With your cup of solace Drawn from your vast reservoir of truth.

There are So many positions of Love: Each curve on a branch, The thousand different ways Your eyes can embrace us, The infinite shapes your Mind can draw, The spring Orchestra of scents, The currents of light combusting Like passionate lips, The revolution of Existence's skirt Whose folds contain other worlds. Your every sigh that falls against His inconceivable Omnipresent Body.

How seamless seemed love and then came trouble!

Now that your worry has proved such an unlucrative business, Why not find a better job?

I once asked a bird, "How do you fly in this gravity of darkness ?" And she replied "Love lifts me" ~ Hafiz~

And even though the drunkenness of love Has ruined me, My being’s built upon those ruins for Eternity

This sky Where we live Is no place to lose your wings So love, love Love.

This Path to God Made me such an old sweet beggar. I was starving until one night My love tricked God Himself To fall into my bowl. Now Hafiz is infintely rich, But all I ever want to do Is keep emptying out My emerald-filled Pockets Upon This tear-stained World.

The small man builds cages for everyone he knows,   while the sage, who has to duck his head when the moon is low,   keeps dropping keys all night long for the beautiful, rowdy prisoners.

What does life give me in the end but sorrow? What do love's good and evil send but sorrow? I've only seen one true companion - pain, And I have known no faithful friend but sorrow.

Be kind to your sleeping heart. Take it out in the vast field of light And let it breathe.

Art is the conversation between lovers. Art offers an opening for the heart. True art makes the divine silence in the soul Break into applause.

I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being. Even After All this time The Sun never says to the Earth, "You owe me." Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the whole sky. Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

I am happy even before I have a reason. I am full of Light even before the sky Can greet the sun or the moon. Dear companions, We have been in love with God For so very, very long.

Come, lovers. Come join us. Bring your empty cups and sit by the fire. Let Khayyam and Hafez reveal to you what you feel. Rumi will pour the wine and I will listen.

Love is simply creation's greatest joy.

Ask the friend for love Ask him again For I have found that every heart Will get what it prays for most

Do not judge us, you who boast your purity. No one will indict you for the faults of others. What is it to you whether I am virtuous or a sinner? Busy yourself with yourself!

For we have not come here to take prisoners Or to confine our wondrous spirits, But to experience ever and ever more deeply Our divine courage, freedom, and Light!

Follow my tracks in the sand that lead Beyond thought and space.

Sugar dissolved in rose water Won't cure my heart; but if you could Dissolve your curses in your kisses, That distillation surely would.

He was so slim, his heart was visible

My whole desire is to burn myself away.

Art is the conversation between lovers. Art offers an opening for the heart. True art makes the divine silence in the soul Break into applause. Art is, at last, the knowledge of Where we are standing – Where we are standing In this Wonderland When we rip off all our clothes And this blind man's patch, veil, That got tied across our brow. Art is the conversation between lovers. True art awakes the Extraordinary Ovation.

All happenings needed to be; accept that, my dear. Ask for any forgiveness one more time if you must, ask for forgiveness one more time if you must, then move on to your glory and sublime reign.

With That Moon Language Admit something: Everyone you see, you say to them, “Love me.” Of course you do not do this out loud; Otherwise, Someone would call the cops. Still though, think about this, This great pull in us to connect. Why not become the one Who lives with a full moon in each eye That is always saying With that sweet moon Language What every other eye in this world Is dying to Hear.

A day of Silence Can be a pilgrimage in itself. A day of Silence Can help you listen To the Soul play Its marvelous lute and drum. Is not most talking A crazed defense of a crumbling fort? I thought we came here To surrender in Silence, To yield to Light and Happiness, To Dance within, In celebration of Love's Victory

With wine beside a gently flowing brook - this is the best; Withdrawn from sorrow in some quiet nook - this is the best

Fear not to follow with pious feet the corpse of Hafiz, for though he was drowned in the ocean of sin, he may find a place in paradise.

I have fallen in love with Someone Who hides inside you. We should talk about this problem— Otherwise, I will never leave you alone.

پاییز هیچ حرف تازه ای برای گفتن ندارد با این همه از منبر بلند باد بالا که می رود درخت ها چه زود به گریه می افتند

How can you be a lover of love and not be a lover of God? It is impossible.

In times of youth, drinking is better. With the joyful, linking is better. The world is a mere temporal inn; With the shipwrecked, sinking is better.

The way is full of perils and the goal far out of sight. There is no road to which there is no end, do not despair.

شب تاریک و بیم موج و گردابی چنین هایل کجا دانند حال ما سبکباران ساحل ها

In love, the Sufi meeting house And wine-shop are one place; As are all places where we find The loved one's radiant race; And what the Sufis make a show of Can be found equally Among the monks, before their cross, Within a monastery.

For as you talk of God, I see great parades with wildly colorful bands Streaming from your mind and heart, Carrying wonderful and secret messages To every corner of this world.

O thou who are trying to learn the marvel of Love through the copybook of reason, I am very much afraid you will never see the point.

Start seeing everything as God, But keep it a secret.

What is the key To untie the knot of the mind’s suffering? Benevolent thought, sound And movement.

Go, mind your own business, preacher! What's all this hullabaloo?

What's all this hiding happiness and wine away? I've lined up with the libertines now, come what may.

Why Just ask the donkey in me To speak to the donkey in you, When I have so many other beautiful animals And brilliant colored birds inside That are longing to say something wonderful And exciting to your heart? Let's open all the locked doors upon our eyes That keep us from knowing the Intelligence That begets love And a more lively and satisfying conversation With the Friend. Let's turn loose our golden falcons So that they can meet in the sky Where our spirits belong-- Necking like two Hot kids. Let's hold hands and get drunk near the sun And sing sweet songs to God Until He joins us with a few notes From his own sublime lute and drum. If you have a better idea Of how to pass a lonely night After your glands may have performed All their little magic Then speak up sweethearts, speak up, For Hafiz and all the world will listen. Why just bring your donkey to me Asking for stale hay And a boring conference with the idiot In regards to this precious matter-- Such a precious matter as love, When I have so many other divine animals And brilliant colored birds inside That are all longing To so sweetly Greet You!

Even After All this time The Sun never says to the Earth, "You owe me." Look What happens With a love like that, It lights the whole sky.

Roya’s favorite place in all of Tehran was the Stationery Shop. It was on the corner of Churchill Street and Hafez Avenue, opposite the Russian embassy and right across the street from her school.

Parallel the care the dancer takes on her finest

May I remember always when Your glance in secrecy was mine, And in my face your love was like A visibly reflected sign. May I remember always when Your chiding eyes were like my death And your sweet lips restored my life Like Jesus’s reviving breath. May I remember always when We drank our wine as darkness died, My friend and I, alone at dawn, Though God was there too, at our side. May I remember always when Your face was pleasure’s flame, and my Poor fluttering heart was like a moth That’s singed and is about to die.

The moon is most happy When it is full. And the sun always looks Like a perfectly minted gold coin That was just Polished And placed in flight By God’s playful Kiss. And so many varieties of fruit Hang plump and round From branches that seem like a Sculptor’s hands. I see the beautiful curve of a pregnant belly Shaped by a soul within,

ماجرای من و معشوق مرا پایان نیست هرچه آغاز ندارد نپذیرد انجام

I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being

তারপর ও, এতো বহু হাজার বছর পরেও, সূর্য কখনো চাঁদকে বলে না, ‘তোমার রুপে্রছটা তো আমারই দান'। সত্যিকারের ভালবাসা তো এমনই হয়, ভালবাসার আলোয় সারা আকাশ ভেসে যায়। translated by - Professon Khair Jahan Sogra, IBA, University of Dhaka

Let's offer flowers, pour a cup of libation, split open the skies and start anew on creation. If the forces of grief invade our lovers' veins, cupbearer and I will wash away this temptation. With rose water we'll mellow crimson wine's bitter cup; we'll sugar the fire to sweeten smoke's emanation. Take this fine lyre, musician, strike up a love song; let's dance, sing all night, go wild in celebration. As dust, 0 West Wind, let us rise to the Heavens, floating free in Creator's glow of elation. If mind desires to return while heart cries to stay, here's a quarrel for love's deliberation. Alas, these words and songs go for naught in this land; come, Hafez, let's create a new generation.

با دلارامی مرا خاطر خوش است کز دلم یک باره برد آرام را

I do not feel like writing verses; but as I light my perfume burner with myrrh and jasmine incense, they suddenly burgeon from my heart, like flowers in a garden.

I wish I could show you, When you are lonely or in darkness, The Astonishing Light Of your own Being!

ما در پیاله عکس رخ یار دیده‌ایم ای بی خبر ز لذت شرب مدام ما هرگز نمیرد آنکه دلش زنده شد به عشق ثبت است در جریده‌ی عالم دوام ما

TROUBLED Troubled? Then stay with me, for I’m not. Lonely? A thousand naked amorous ones dwell in ancient caves Beneath my eyelids. Riches? Here’s a pick, My whole body is an emerald that begs, “Take me.” Write all that worries you on a piece of parchment; Offer it to God. Even from the distance of a millennium I can lean the flame in my heart Into your life And turn All that frightens you Into holy Incense Ash.

Someone Should Start Laughing I have a thousand brilliant lies For the question: How are you? I have a thousand brilliant lies For the question: What is God? If you think that the Truth can be known From words, If you think that the Sun and the Ocean Can pass through that tiny opening Called the mouth, O someone should start laughing! Someone should start wildly Laughing— Now!

The fervor and single-mindedness of this deification probably have no precedent in history. It's not like Duvalier or Assad passing the torch to the son and heir. It surpasses anything I have read about the Roman or Babylonian or even Pharaonic excesses. An estimated $2.68 billion was spent on ceremonies and monuments in the aftermath of Kim Il Sung's death. The concept is not that his son is his successor, but that his son is his reincarnation. North Korea has an equivalent of Mount Fuji—a mountain sacred to all Koreans. It's called Mount Paekdu, a beautiful peak with a deep blue lake, on the Chinese border. Here, according to the new mythology, Kim Jong Il was born on February 16, 1942. His birth was attended by a double rainbow and by songs of praise (in human voice) uttered by the local birds. In fact, in February 1942 his father and mother were hiding under Stalin's protection in the dank Russian city of Khabarovsk, but as with all miraculous births it's considered best not to allow the facts to get in the way of a good story.

Silence A day of Silence Can be a pilgrimage in itself. A day of Silence Can help you listen To the Soul play Its marvelous lute and drum. Is not most talking A crazed defense of a crumbling fort?

دمی با غم به سر بردن جهان یک سر نمی‌ارزد به می بفروش دلق ما کز این بهتر نمی‌ارزد به کوی می فروشانش به جامی بر نمی‌گیرند زهی سجاده تقوا که یک ساغر نمی‌ارزد رقیبم سرزنش‌ها کرد کز این باب رخ برتاب چه افتاد این سر ما را که خاک در نمی‌ارزد شکوه تاج سلطانی که بیم جان در او درج است کلاهی دلکش است اما به ترک سر نمی‌ارزد چه آسان می‌نمود اول غم دریا به بوی سود غلط کردم که این طوفان به صد گوهر نمی‌ارزد تو را آن به که روی خود ز مشتاقان بپوشانی که شادی جهان گیری غم لشکر نمی‌ارزد چو حافظ در قناعت کوش و از دنیی دون بگذر که یک جو منت دونان دو صد من زر نمی‌ارزد

If It Is Not Too Dark Go for a walk, if it is not too dark. Get some fresh air, try to smile. Say something kind To a safe-looking stranger, if one happens by. Always exercise your heart’s knowing. You might as well attempt something real Along this path: Take your spouse or lover into your arms The way you did when you first met. Let tenderness pour from your eyes The way the Sun gazes warmly on the earth. Play a game with some children. Extend yourself to a friend. Sing a few ribald songs to your pets and plants— Why not let them get drunk and wild! Let’s toast Every rung we’ve climbed on Evolution’s ladder. Whisper, “I love you! I love you!” To the whole mad world. Let’s stop reading about God— We will never understand Him. Jump to your feet, wave your fists, Threaten and warn the whole Universe That your heart can no longer live Without real love!

Would You Think It Odd? Would you think it odd if Hafiz said, “I am in love with every church And mosque And temple And any kind of shrine Because I know it is there That people say the different names Of the One God.” Would you tell your friends I was a bit strange if I admitted I am indeed in love with every mind And heart and body. O I am sincerely Plumb crazy About your every thought and yearning And limb Because, my dear, I know That it is through these That you search for Him.

خیز و در کاسه رز آب طربناک انداز پیش از آنی که شود کاسه سر خاک انداز عاقبت منزل ما وادی خاموشان است حالیا غلغله در گنبد افلاک انداز ملک این مزرعه دانی که ثباتی نکند آتشی از جگر جام در املاک انداز بسر سبز تو ای سرو که چون خاک شوم ناز از سر بنه و سایه بر آن خاک انداز دل ما را که ز مار سر زلف تو بخست از لب خود به شفاخانه تریاک انداز غسل در اشک زدم کاهل طریقت گویند پاک شو اول و پس دیده بر آن پاک انداز یارب آن زاهد خودبین که بجز عیب ندید دود آهیش در آیینه ادراک انداز چشم آلوده نظر از رخ جانان دور است بر رخ او نظر از آیینه پاک انداز چون گل از نکهت او جامه قبا کن حافظ وین قبا در ره آن قامت چالاک انداز

I WISH I COULD SPEAK LIKE MUSIC I wish I could speak like music. I wish I could put the swaying splendor Of the fields into words So that you could hold Truth Against your body And dance. I am trying the best I can With this crude brush, the tongue, To cover you with light. I wish I could speak like divine music. I want to give you the sublime rhythms Of this earth and the sky’s limbs As they joyously spin and surrender, Surrender Against God’s luminous breath. Hafiz wants you to hold me Against your precious Body And dance, Dance.

Laughter What is laughter? What is laughter? It is God waking up! O it is God waking up! It is the sun poking its sweet head out From behind a cloud You have been carrying too long, Veiling your eyes and heart. It is Light breaking ground for a great Structure That is your Real body—called Truth. It is happiness applauding itself and then taking flight To embrace everyone and everything in this world. Laughter is the polestar Held in the sky by our Beloved, Who eternally says, “Yes, dear ones, come this way, Come this way toward Me and Love!

ای همه کار تو مطبوع و همه جای تو خوش دلم از عشوه شرین شکرخای تو خوش همچو گلبرگ طری هست وجود تو لطیف همچو سرو چمنی هست سراپای تو خوش هم گلستان خیالم ز تو پرنقش و نگار هم مشام دلم از زلف سمن‌سای تو خوش شیوه ناز تو شیرین خط و خال تو ملیح چشم وابروی توزیبا قدوبالای تو خوش پیش چشم تو بمیرم که بدان بیماری می‌کند درد مرا از رخ زیبای تو خوش در ره عشق که از سیل فنا نیست گذار می‌کنم خاطر خودرا به تمنای تو خوش در بیابان طلب گرچه ز هرسو خطر است می‌رود حافظ بیدل به تولای تو خوش

بشنو این نکته که خود را ز غم آزاده کنی خون خوری گر طلب روزی ننهاده کنی آخرالامر گل کوزه گران خواهی شد حالیا فکر سبو کن که پر از باده کنی گر از آن آدمیانی که بهشتت هوس است عیش با آدمی ای چند پری زاده کنی تکیه بر جای بزرگان نتوان زد به گزاف مگر اسباب بزرگی همه آماده کنی اجرها باشدت ای خسرو شیرین دهنان گر نگاهی سوی فرهاد دل افتاده کنی خاطرت کی رقم فیض پذیرد هیهات مگر از نقش پراگنده ورق ساده کنی کار خود گر به کرم بازگذاری حافظ ای بسا عیش که با بخت خداداده کنی ای صبا بندگی خواجه جلال الدین کن که جهان پرسمن و سوسن آزاده کنی