Paul Smith

Hafiz

~ HAFIZ: A Daybook ~Translation & Introduction by Paul SmithHafiz is considered by many of the world's foremost poets, mystics, artists and writers to be the greatest poet of all time. Hafiz was not only a great poet, he became a Perfect Master or enlightened being, whose wisdom and insights into the everyday and mystical path are such that it is said that one can gain spiritual advancement by reading his book. During the past six centuries he has inspired and influenced the world of literature, philosophy, mysticism and all aspects of art: poetry, painting and music in the east and the west. His life was for mankind and his work to be shared with the world. Through his example we can learn how to prepare for unprecedented change. Without doubt, he is one of the greatest human beings since time began. His Divan has been loved by many millions of people. To this day it is used as an oracle and spiritual guide and in this Daybook one can use his couplets on a daily basis or open them at random for inspiration and advice. 375 pages.“In his poetry Hafiz has inscribed undeniable truth indelibly... Hafiz has no peer.” Goethe“Once a person has studied Hafiz he has reached the top of the mountain, from whence he beholds the sublimity of the immanence of God.” Inayat Khan“Hafiz defies you to show him or put him in a condition inopportune or ignoble... He fears nothing. He sees too far; he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be.” Emerson“Hafiz is highly esteemed by his countrymen as Shakespeare by us, and deserves as serious consideration.” A.J. Arberry“There is no equal to Hafiz in poetry. He was a Perfect Master... His Divan is the best book in the world because it engenders feelings which ultimately lead to illumination.” Meher Baba“It is as if his mental eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit.” Gertrude Bell“Hafiz breathes originality in all his works ... in no other country, was ever born a genius so rare. He dwells on the degeneracy of his age, on the vanity of the world on universal charity, and on toleration and liberty of conscience.” H. Wilberforce Clarke“We may state, without incurring the danger of modernization, that in these ghazals Hafiz applied quite consciously and consistently a method of revealing his hero's inner condition at which European literature first arrived only in the XX century.” Michael J. Zand“The best Musician of Words.” Edward Fitzgerald (Translator of Omar Khayyam)“…sublime amorous ghazals.” Lorca“Only the most enlightened of beings can benefit from the deepest human joys because within such beings resides a unique force of freedom and rapture. Their awareness rests in the house of spirit and their soul mates with their awareness, meaning that which is discovered through awareness emanates from their soul and that which shines in the soul is known with awareness. This unity of spirit and mind is the legacy of Hafiz.” NietzscheCOMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'.“It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished.” Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. “Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith.” Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of English to Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. “Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz.” Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 80 books of Sufi poets of Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Hallaj, Rudaki, Yunus Emre and many others as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays.

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