Kheli Mam'noon


Persian poetry, Hafez' ghazals
Sunshine playing like a child
in our open house
Morning dew for our dal
Stewing nicely, Laal Maas
mutton chops.






Hafez was a Persian poet who “lauded the joys of love and wine but also targeted religious hypocrisy".


Hafez became a poet at the court of Abu Ishak and also taught at a religious college. He is one of the most celebrated of the Persian poets, and his influence can be felt to this day. As the author of numerous ghazals expressing love, spirituality, and protest, he and his work continue to be important to Iranians.


He received a classical religious education and was designated as one who knew the Qur’an by heart. Among his guiding principles was Sufism, an Islamic mystical movement. He was known for his mastery of the ghazal, a verse form of 6 to 15 couplets linked by unity of subject and symbolism.


Since he had memorized Quran at an early age, people addressed him as Hafez meaning memorizer, and later, “Hafez” got his pen name.