Hafez: Book of Divination

Publisher Marketing: HAFEZ: BOOK OF DIVINATION Translation, Introduction & Interpretations Paul Smith Hafez's Divan of poems has been used as an Oracle successfully by millions of people from all walks of life for the past 600 years. The practice of interpreting his insightful poems has been a long tradition. Here are four hundred ghazals with insightful, clear interpretations by Paul Smith, an Introduction that includes his life, poetry, spirituality and the history of the use of his book as one of the world's great books of Divination. The correct rhyme has been kept as well as the beauty and meaning of these immortal, mystical poems. 441 pages Gertrude Bell: "It is as if his mental Eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into those provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit." Meher Baba: "There is no equal to Hafez in poetry. He was a Perfect Master ... His Divan is the best book in the world because it engenders feelings which ultimately lead to illumination." COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFEZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafez is a great feat of paramount importance. I am astonished. If he comes to Iran I will kiss the fingertips that wrote such a masterpiece inspired by the Creator of all. " Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafez 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator and knower of Hafez's Divan off by heart. "I was very impressed with the beauty of these books." Dr. R. K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafez." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 150 books of Sufi poets from the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre and others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies and screenplays. www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.com Contributor Bio:  Smith, Paul Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of over 150 books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Bulleh Shah, Shah Latif, Khushal Khan Khattak, Ghalib and many others, and his own poetry, fiction, childrens books, plays, biographies and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooksbookheaven.comContributor Bio:  Hafez Hafez was born in Shiraz sometime between 1310 CE and 1337 CE with the year 1320 CE the most likely. His full name was Khwajeh Shams al-Din Mohammed Hafez-e Shirazi. His father, Baha-ud-Din, was a successful merchant from Isfahan who settled in Shiraz and died there when Hafez was a very young child. In any case, Hafez undoubtedly received a thorough religious education, probably from listening to the recitations of the Qu'ran, as his pen name Hafez derives from the Arabic honorific from Hafiz, which is awarded to anyone who has accomplished the achievement of memorizing the entire Qu'ran. Hafez is the most beloved lyric poet of the Persian poetic tradition. His ghazals, unequaled in their subtlety, refinement, and eloquence, have had a lasting influence on subsequent Persian poetry. The richness of his imagery and the intricate musicality of his lines combine to produce a poetry of inimitable eclat. Hafez's mastery of form and his verbal virtuosity are what make his poetry so irresistible. Most scholars agree that Hafez died in Shiraz at the age of sixty-nine in 1389 CE.