Shah Nematollah was in the first place a musician, you hear him dance, sing and move on rhythms and tunes, and he clothes his rhythms with words; visually his poems evoke a view in the street were we see a joyful company of intoxicated dervishes following the saki, who has glass in the hand and is always intoxicated. So in fact a comparison between the poetry of the two great masters is a rather precarious job. If we embark however on this journey of comparison we can perhaps arrive at unexpected conclusions. Let us go!
In general poetry can be compared in three ways:
1.rhythm in poetry
2.signification of poetry
3.melody (radif and qafieh)
RADIF :ending word repeated in every verse.
QAFIEH:words with the same melody (rhyme) before the radif.
Radif is after qafieh.
The comparition of poems of Sah Nematollah and Hafiz finds its issue in remarkable similarities in the poems in the three aspects mentioned above:rhythm, melody(radif and qafieh) and signification of the poetry.
For instance let us consider the following two poems of Shah and Hafiz concerning the subject "dervishes". Both composed a poem on dervishes,
ending on the word: "dervishes". Although (in Persian language) the qafieh and rhythm is not the same, the radif is the same :"darvishan ast". And what about the signification? Let us see:
Hafez (nr.50):
1.The garden of lofty Paradise is the retreat of Darvishes:
Grandeur's source is the service of Darvishes.
9
O potent one! Boast not all this pomp: for thy
Head and gold are in the keeping of the blessing of Darvishes
10.The form of the object that the King of the worlds seeks,
is the reflection in the mirror of the appearance of the Darvishes.
11.Hafiz! be here with respect, for sovereignty and country,
all are from the service of the majesty of Darvishes.
12.I am the slave of the glance of the Asaf of the age, who
has the form of chiefship and of mind of Darvishes.
Shah Nematollah nr.1
.Come, my heart and my soul is filled with love of the dervishes
Come, for the king of the world is a beggar with the dervishes.
The presence of Seyed, the joy of the dervishes, and the sama of the musicians,
all this is made possible by the breath of creation of the dervish.
In comparing the signification of the poetry we discover an interesting fact.
Both are describing the importance of a dervish, the grandeur, fortune, victory over tyranny, blessing, the majesty of the dervish (Hafiz) and love for, presence and vibration, breath of creation of the dervishes (Shah Nematollah) Looking more carefully however we see that they speak about the dervishes from a different point of view, they depicture different characteristics.
Hafiz says: Everybody is begging the favor of the king….but only Caesar is a slave before the dervishes" and
"What the king of the world seeks, is the reflection in the mirror of the dervishes, and he continues: " I am the slave of the Asaf who has the same virtues as the dervishes." It is as if Hafiz does see and acknowledge the virtues of the dervishes, but according to him it is only the king who gets the favor of the dervishes; everybody begs the king for what they get from the dervishes.
Shah says:"Come,my heart and my soul is filled with love of the dervishes. presence of Seyed, the joy of the dervishes, and the sama of the musicians, all this is made possible by the breath of creation of the dervish."The voice of chanting of the lovers and the joy of our gathering are
examples of the presence and vibration of the dervishs, The joy of the dervishes, the sama, all is made possible by the breath of the dervishes.
It is like Shah Nematollah is more in contact with the "energy" of the dervishes, he is sharing it. He enjoys also, he loves, he feels the joy of the gathering, etc.
The point of view about the dervishes says something about the composers themselves:
Shah expresses the joy to be with the dervishes, he is participating, Hafiz presents himself as the poor beggar, who is observing the virtues of the dervishes. Hafiz says: the people are begging the king because the king receives of the dervishes. We see Shah himself in contact with the dervishes. It is as if he is among them, while Hafiz is painfully separated from them.
Let us continue in comparing their poems wherin we discover some similarities.
2.in a Poem of Shah "The intoxicated Saki came in our assembly
By reason of his presence what I wished was realized.
The Zahid left our reunion when the intoxicated Saki came in.
We asked the pardon of God from our repentance;
These repentance, if we did it, was wrong."
Poem of Hafiz: (403. Of the zahid's word, we repented;
And of the worshipper's deed, we seek the pardon of God.
And in 404: "That one am I who without you breathe. What shame!
Perchance, you may pardon. If not, the excuse for sin is what?"
Here we see again a resemblance in poems; although the radif and qafieh are different, there is the same structure in rhythm and melody, and the contents of the poems are on the same spiritual frequency. There must be a rapport between both. Both criticize the Zahid, the man of " the religious practice of repentance" Hafiz says: we ask pardon of God for our worshipper's deeds and we repent of the words of the Zahid. Shah Nematollah however says: this repentance was wrong. Why could he say that repentence was wrong? There is only one answer: because he was a "rend", a man of absolute inner freedom; knowing no repentance.
It seems that gradually two profiles are beginning to become visible. Let us continue first before drawing conclusions.
3.Shah Nematollah:
(23) Our preoccupation is to be drunken and in love
and the point of the gathering of the lovers is our vow.
We are friends with the glass, and we keep company with the "rend"
In the garden of love we are drunken nightingales.
Visiting the people of the heart is our garden.
In the storehouse of the universe all that you find comes from our bazaar.
The source of the water of life is to the thirst at the glass of wine.
And our poetry is a secret that comes forth from our mysteries
And the one who is one of our intimates knows these mysteries.
Nematollah is intoxicated, glass with wine in the hand!
He is the happy cupbearer of our time!
Hafez 460:Two friends of understanding, and of old wine a quantity, two"mans",(explanation of "man" Hafez 461: Drink the cup of the wine of unity of a "man" A "man" is a measure, a quantity of 3 kilo).
A little leisure, and a book and a sward corner.
For this and the next world I give not this state;
Though, momently, full upon me a crowd.
Every one who for the world's treasure gave the treasure of contentment
……..
If for thee out of the country of contentment, desire makes a native land.
From the fierce wind of vicissitude one cannot see
That in the sward has been a red rose or a wild white rose.
From this simum that by the gardenborders passed,
Wonder that the color of a rose remains or the perfume of a jessamine.
O heart! strive thou for patience. For God delivers not
A seal ring so precious to the hand of an evil one.
…….
In both poems we find the same musical structure (rhythm and melody ,radif and qafieh) And both are beginning as an ode on drinking wine and being with the beloved. drinking the wine and loving the beloved is the main occupation, being in a nice garden as drunken nightingales (Shah).
Two friends of understanding and of old wine a quantity of two" mans",a little leisure a book and a sward corner.(Hafiz). But then Shah continues "we are in the company of the rend, he who knows the mysteries, the happy cupbearer" While Hafiz at first praising the state of this contentment, then however he continues "behold the hidden form in the mirror of the Picture establisher if out of the country of contentment desire makes a native land" and "from the fierce wind of vicissitude one cannot see that in this sward has been a red rose or a wild white rose. Wonder that the color of the rose and the perfume of the jessamine remained!" While Shah N. easily continues light heartedly, here appears Hafiz the poet in colorful images of changing mood. Here come the calamities of the vicissitudes. They who are struggling on the Path will recognize the calamities of Hafiz, and by contemplating the "miniatures" of Hafiz one gains recognition and more comprehension on one's own moods by the vicissitudes in life, so here he is pointing to the importance of patience, etc. In other words Hafiz's poem is like a teaching, trying to understand what is the meaning of his words we get the lesson. Shah ‘s light and joyful words are like an direct encouragement; he seems to tell you: "perhaps one day this joyful state will also be yours!".
Two great sufi's living in the same time in the same country, composing poems with similarities in subject, and literary structure we can put the question: did they know each others work, or even have they ever met each other?
Searching in their poetry we find indeed indications that it is even probable that they react in their poems on each other. Hafiz never mentions Shah Nematollah, while Hafez mentions many names in his poems. Shah did mention Hafiz in only one poem, but on this we come back later.
Let us now consider one poem of Shah Nematollah:
4. "The king of love took possession of whole of the world
my life be satisfied for him
because he occupied every place in the world.
This poem has the same musical structure (rhythm, radif and qavieh) as the following poem of Hafez.:
Yes by concordance, the whole world one can take
We see here clearly a rapport in meaning , the possession of the whole world, yes this possible "by concordance"", but then Hafez speaks (in 87)
There is a secret in my chest, if I will tell this, the fire will take my tongue, a "concealed fire in his chest" and "a rose that boasted of the Friend" and at last he says: "in jealousy the breeze took the breath from the mouth".
From out of this concealed fire that is in my chest
The rose wished to boast of the colour and the perfume of the Friend in
After this it seems that we hear some notes of envy and sulking.
Rested apart I was like the compass
At last me into the center like a point , time took
Regard opportunity.For when oproar fell upon the world
Sufi struck at the cup, and through grief, the corner took
It is not unthinkable that here we see a matter of response in a mood of some rivalry. If Hafiz says at the end of this poem; "like water, grace trickles from thy verse, on it, nice distinction, the envious one how took? " we hear the word "distinction", or " who is the best? "Hafiz was the great poet of his time, the celebrated poet of Shiraz; could it be that he was challenged by the poetry of Shah Nematollah, the Sufi king of his time? Was this a match?
.
And if we look at the following two poems of Hafiz and Shah Nematollah, then there can be no doubt that one poem is written in response on the other:
Hafiz wrote: Those who are capable to change the dust into gold with a glance,
Pray they look once at us from the corner of the eye
And Shah Nematollah wrote: we can change the dust of the earth into gold
with only a glance
We remedy a hundred sufferings only with one glance.
In the prison of form we still rejoice
Both use the same rhythm in this poems, while the radif in the poem of Hafiz is "konand"(they do), it is "konim" (we do) in the poem of Shah Nematollah.
In Hafiz's first line: "pray they may cast a glance at us" we hear the deep wish; is Hafiz seeking Shah N.as a master?or at least seeking to be respected or accepted by Shah N.?Let us see further in Hafiz's poem:
Better to hide my pain from false physicians (allusion to remedy of 100sufferings?)
Hoping my remedy may lie with the Hidden Treasure
Since the beloved uplifts not the veil from his face
Why does everyone in imagination a tale make?
Then there follow some lines on proud and hypocrisy, and he continues:
How much misfortune hides behind the veil?
What shall we not see when at last the screen falls?
And at the end of the poem Hafiz concludes:
union forever can never be attained,
Kings care little for the cares of beggars!
We feel the disappointment and disillusion, and we hear the desire, the prayer: "look at us" and hereafter we hear the critics of not be responded, we feel the dissapointment and drawing back with the resigned conclusion "union is unattainable".
And it is if our searching journey comes now to an dramatical climax
In the next two poems , also with the same musical structure, the same radif and the same frequency we read: Shah Nematollah says:
with this pain of heart
One cannot look for a remedy
It is the result of the dear life
One cannot leave it.
Now we have to consider the poem of Shah, the only one wherein Hafiz is mentioned: "we grew up, and Hafiz is in decline". Was Shah N. responding on Hafiz in the former poem? Let us read this poem of Hafiz:
Into the curve of that doubled tress, the hand one cannot put:
Reliance on Thy covenant and the morning breeze, one cannot make.
Whatever is the effort I do in search of Thee
This is the extent that alteration of fate, one cannot make.
With a hundred of the heart's blood the Beloved's skirt fell to my hand:
For the great reproach that the enemy makes, release one cannot make
And so he continues with some more complaining , then he finished this poem with:
Only one of pure vision can behold the Beloved's face:
For save with purity in the mirror, one glance one cannot make.
Jealousy became mine that Thou art the Beloved of the world.
But day and night, conflict with the creatures of God, one cannot make.
Is it here that Hafiz is here responding on Shah N.? We cannot be sure about who responds on who. But psychologically we can speak perhaps of probability.
There are some historical facts known: Shah N. did not go to Shiraz before the death of Hafiz, only after his death two times.Hafiz'death 792 (803?)Within the lifetime of Hafiz Shah N. went to Yazd and he remained 4 years in Yazd Historically it is sure that Hafiz was two years in Yazd in that period.(788 Hafiz in Yazd )4 Years later he left his body.
It is rather out of the question that these two great Sufi's would not have met each other. Plausible is that Hafiz was searching for Shah's guidance, but was not accepted as such, and he expressed his disappointment and critics in response on Shah Nematollah.(It is not impossible that Hafiz expected Shah in Shiraz? And when Shah did not come to Shiraz Hafez went to Yazd to seek him
Let us look at the following poem of Hafiz:
Not in pursuit of pomp and of pageant, to this door we have come
For shelter of ill-fortune, here we have come.
Wayfarers of love's stage are we, and from the limits of nonexistence
Up to the clime of existence all this way we have come.
The freshness of Thy down, we saw and from the garden of paradise
In search of this love-grass we have come.
With such treasure whose treasurer is the faithful spirit,
In beggary to the door of the Shah's house we have come.
O bark of grace! Thy anchor of patience is where?
For in this ocean of liberality, immersed in sin we have come.
O cloud, sin-cleansing! Honor goes, rain!
For in the court of action black of book, we have come.
Hafiz this woolen khirka,cast, for
From behind the kafila with the fire of sighing we have come.
Hafiz came asking for something, it was not material, it had a spiritual purpose, can it be that he did ask to become an adept at Shah's door?
Of course this is a supposition, no scientific conclusion.
And we can ask what was the use, the importance of our journey? I can share with you what it was for me: since my visits to Iran I was interested in the poems of Hafiz; it were very useful teachings on my own spiritual path and in a certain sense a guidance, digging into the possible meaning of the poems, struggling with the often contradictory images, I came to a lot of understanding about the essence of Sufism, the meaning of love, the relation with the Beloved, the purification by the pain of separation. Etc etc. In this sense the poems of Hafiz were real teachings for me. But now in comparing the two great Sufi's by means of their poems two living figures are coming forward, each in his own quality.
Hafiz the sublime talented poet, rich in his imagination, in depth and literary capacity, and behind his wonderful poems arises a man, I see now the tormented seeker himself, now high in ecstasy then deep in sorrows and pain, his Beloved passed by, his Beloved is a cruel killer and slayer, his Beloved is coming and going all the time. He yearns for God but he is ever in lover's grief in seeking the Master who can bring him to that state of Union. I understand now that exactly beause of this he can be a teacher on the Path.
Behind the cheerful and light-hearted tunes of Shah Nematollah however appears a man who is arisen above all duality of the world, above the struggles of the Path, forever joyful, full of love for his fellowmen and in a absolute free state, a rend , a saintly being, inviting, uplifting encouraging, promising." la o baly" With Hafiz I can recognize, be moved and I can learn , Shah Nematollah is a lightning lamp directly kindling a light within me. It makes extremely happy, yes he is able to make you intoxicated.
Source: The 1st Annual International Symposium on Sey-yed Nourod-din Shah Nematollah Vali