The stylistic impact of Hafiz of Shiraz on Taheri Naiini

Molla Taheri Naiini’s Divan is one of manuscript treasures the unique copy of which was endowed by the late Mohammad Nakhjavani to the Central Library of Tabriz. Taheri, a poet from the Safavid period, was a contemporary of Shah Abbas I. With the characteristics of his mode of expression and thought in mind, one can conclude that he was a follower of the Iraqi Style. Taheri Naiini may be regarded as the greatest emulator of Hafez, as out of his 252 ghazals 190 imitate those of Khwaje Hafiz’s. The most common meter used in his ghazals is also Hafiz’s most favourite one in his lyrics. The two poets have a number of key words - like rind, sheikh, pir-e moghan and va’iz - in common. Taheri has taken interest in and utilized certain aesthetic features of Hafiz; such as multi-facetedness of his ghazals, using mysticism, love, social satire etc in the same ghazal, as well as paradoxes, and social criticism. His employment of novel descriptions and word combinations, his poetic taste and imagination, and the ability to combine thought and imagination all reveal that Taheri is a poet worthy of attention, and deserves to be fully introduced, both him and his Divan.