Hafez's Humorous Adaptation of Sufi Dignity

Hāfez does not have a favorable opinion of Sufis. Whenever he mentions a mystic, an old man, a Sufi, and their alternative meanings, such as Ahl -e- Khalvat, Khalvt Gozideh, Kootah Astinan, Pashmineh Poosh, Ahl-e-Khaneghah, and monastery, it is accompanied by humor and elaboration. Understanding and explaining the meaning of these satires and elaborations requires attention to the form and structure of Hāfez's sonnet. The inaccuracy in Hāfez's method has led scholars to evaluate this satire and elaboration in a positive light and to think that Hāfez has a different view of Sufis and mystics because they have neglected the humorous use of mystical expressions. From the beginning of the ninth century, Hāfez has been called the exaggerated title Lesan –Ol- Ghaib (Unseen language), and this title has been used for Hāfez as a kind of dignity. Despite the prevalence of this title, the issue of adaptation in Hāfez's lyric poems is also a point that scholars have listed in detail. The combination of Hāfez's adaptation and divination is seemingly difficult and unacceptable, which is why some scholars have sought to present an acceptable concept of the title of Hāfez's Lesan – Ol-Ghaib. Mentioning words related to sufism or quoting sufi miracles in Hāfez's Divan has led some scholars to consider Hāfez's view of sufi personality, work, and deeds positive; Hāfez should be considered a mystic and a sufi. For this reason, in this article, in order to explain the position of mystics and Hāfez's view of them, we have chosen an important and common dignity in mystical texts that has been used in Hāfez's divan: to bring fish out of the sea in order to remove the slander of a sufi. The result of the research shows that if Hāfez has been called Lesan – Ol-Ghaib, it is not because of his divination and prophecy, but this title indicates his deep and extensive study in such a way that he has been able to combine speech in a new way. Based on the words of the sufis, Hāfez has been able to reject and deny their inaccuracies or to offer a special reading of the miracles of the sufis in accordance with his thought. Saying such things, of course, causes the sufis and ascetic to be hostile to him but Hāfez in front of them refers to their own interpretations and he uses the miracles that the sufis claim to dispel slander to better show the sin of the hypocritical Sufis.