The night of power

Hafiz, Ghazal 246

(from Persian)

The Night of Power, or šab-i qadr (laylatu l-qadr in Arabic) is the night on which, according to Islamic mythology, the first revelations of the Qur'an were made to the prophet Muhammad via the angel Gabriel.

Hafez toys with the the term by putting it in an amatory context, while also reinforcing its religious aspect (three of the lines are actually written in Arabic, one of which is an almost exact quotation from the Qur'ān.)

The Sufi overtones which had been forced on the Persian lyric vocabulary by the mystical tradition allow both the religious and amatory implications to coexist in quite harmonious yet paradoxical, and surely intentional, balance and tension.

The age-old question of whether Hafiz is being amatory or spiritual is badly framed and worse than useless when it comes to poems of his like this one, and the reader would be well-advised to keep in mind that a key feature of Hafez' aesthetic is to undermine notions of consistency. You don't know what the meaning of the poem really is, because there really isn't any one meaning.  Hafiz would be the first to remind us that trying to make too much sense of something, like why I seem to have spelled his name two different ways in this paragraph, might just ruin the fun, and that the meaning of a poem, like the meaning of life itself, does not need to be completely understood for you to enjoy it.


It is the night of power, the scroll 
of loss is rolled away.
     Peace be unto this sacred night.
     Peace until break of day.
My heart in travel on the path 
of love, be strong and true.
     You are to be requited for
     each step along that way.
And even though you wound me with
banishment and disdain,
     I'll not repent of what I am:
     a wanton debauché. 
My heart is gone. I caught not one
glimpse of its sweet thief's face.
     Such tyranny! Such heartlessness!
     What else is there to say? 
Dear God, oh God! Restore the light
of morning to my heart.
     The dark of separation's night
     has wiped my sight away. 
Hafiz, endure this faithless torment
if you seek love and faith.
     Before a merchant turns a profit,
     there's first a cost to pay.

Translated from Persian by A.Z. Foreman

شب قدر است و طی شد نامۀ هجر
 سلامٌ فيه حتی مطلع الفجر

دلا در عاشقی ثابت قدم باش
که در اين ره نباشد کار بی اجر

من از رندی نخواهم کرد توبه
ولو آذيتنی بالهجر والحجر

برآی ای صبح روشن دل خدارا
که بس تاريک می‌بينم شب هجر

دلم رفت و نديدم روی دلدار
 فغان از اين تطاول آه از اين زجر

وفا خواهی جفاکش باش حافظ

فإنّ الربح و الخسران فی التجر

È la notte del potere. La lista

delle perdite è accantonata.

Sia pace a questa notte santa.

Sia pace fino allo spuntar dell'alba.

Il mio cuore in viaggio sulla via

dell'amore sia forte e vero.

Sarai interrogato su ogni passo

lungo questa via.

E sebbene tu mi ferisca

con il bandirmi e lo sprezzarmi,

non mi pentirò di quel che sono:

un ricercato senza volontà.

Il mio cuore è andato. Non colsi uno

sguardo del dolce volto di ladro.

Che tirannia! Senza cuore!

Che altro dire?

Buon Dio, oh mio Dio! Restituisci la luce

del mattino al mio cuore.

Il buio della notte dell'addio

Mi ha tolto la vista.

Hafiz, sopporta l'infedele tormento

se cerchi amore e fede.

Prima che un mercante guadagni

c'è un prezzo da pagare.