O konceptu gnostičke ljubavi u Divanu Hafiza Širazija
The Concept of Gnostic Love in the Diwan of Hafez of Shiraz

Summary/Abstract: “Love” is a key term often used in Iranian culture, language and literature. It can be said that Iranian literature, especially poetry, is a story of love and lovers. There are two essentially different approaches: one is directed towards mundane love and the beloved, and the other towards heaven, Godly love and meeting the true Beloved One. There is also a third approach which is a combination of the first two: its focus is partly on mundane love, whilst its real goal is Godly love and its real Beloved One is heaven-bound. This combined approach equally praises enjoying the beauty of the metaphorical Beloved One and beholding the endless beauty of the primordial Beloved One—the beauty of the Lord of all worlds and the source of beauty. Ghazal is the most appropriate poetic form for the expression of love words and games, and under the influence of the aforementioned approaches two basic branches emerged during the history of Persian literature: metaphorical ghazal and Gnostic ghazal. These branches had developed independently for more than two centuries before they finally merged and reached their peak in Hafez’s ghazals. Therefore, these ghazals—whose main theme is Love, and which incorporate symbols of mundane love as well as elements of Gnostic love—have been the subject of much attention from Iranians, in Hafez’s age through to modern times, fundamentally changing their understanding of the term “love”.

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