Ghazal 208 (غزل ۲۰۸) · Divan of Hafez
خستگان را چو طلب باشد و قُوَّت نَبُوَد
khastegān rā cho ṭalab bāshad o qovvat nabovad
gar to bīdād konī sharṭ-e morovvat nabovad
mā jafā az to nadīdīm o to khod napsandī
ānche dar mazhab-e arbāb-e ṭarīqat nabūd
khīre ān dīde ke ābash nabarad gerye-ye ʿeshq
tīre ān del ke dar ū shamʿ-e maḥabbat nabūd
dowlat az morgh-e homāyūn ṭalab o sāye-ye ū
z-ān ke bā zāgh o zaghan shahpar-e dowlat nabūd
gar madad khāstam az pīr-e moghān ʿeyb makon
sheykh-e mā goft ke dar sowmeʿe hemmat nabūd
chon ṭahārat nabovad kaʿbe o botkhāne yekī-st
nabovad kheyr dar ān khāne ke ʿeṣmat nabūd
Ḥāfeẓā ʿelm o adab varz ke dar majles-e shāh
har ke rā nīst adab lāyeq-e ṣoḥbat nabūd
The Persian verses are from the Divan of Hafez of Shiraz, drawn from the public-domain ganjoor archive, and presented unchanged. The transliteration is model-assisted and awaiting review by a Persian-literate reader — if you spot a slip, we’d love to hear.
Hold a question in your heart, and let a verse of Hafez answer it.