Hafez was a fourteenth-century Persian poet and spiritual vagabond in the tradition of Rumi. His 500 surviving poems have been gathered together in the Divan, a book assembled after his death and still used in Iran today as a divination tool. Haleh Pourafzal, a native of Iran, and Roger Montgomery, an American, see Hafez as a mystic philosopher whose vision of life will appeal to the seeker in us all.
"Every building you see is destructible," the poet wrote, "except the enduring shelter of kindness." Hafez was a free spirit whose quest took him beyond traditional Islam to a partnership with the Beloved. The authors highlight some of the major themes in his poetry including gathered memory, giving way to abandon, finding clarity in ecstasy, stretching ourselves to embrace the rage of love, and surrendering to mystery. The radical intent of his visionary poetry is best conveyed in the following lines: "Peace in two worlds is the merging of two paths: fairness with friends, fellowship with enemies."
