About

Khwaja Shams-ud-Din Muhammad Hafez-e Shirazi, known by his pen name Hafez (c. 1315–1390), was a Persian poet whose collected works are regarded as a pinnacle of Persian literature. His ghazals are found in the homes of most Persian speakers, who learn his verses by heart and still use them as proverbs and sayings.

The word “Hafez” means “one who has memorized the Quran” — a title given to him in his youth. His poetry explores themes of love, faith, hypocrisy, and the pursuit of truth, often using the metaphor of wine and the beloved to express mystical longing.

His tomb in Shiraz, known as Hafezieh, is one of the most visited sites in Iran and remains a place of pilgrimage for poetry lovers from around the world.

This project aims to make Hafez's poetry accessible to a global audience by presenting each ghazal in three forms:

• ف
  Persian (Farsi) — The original text in the Persian script, right-to-left
• En
  English — Translated meaning for English-speaking readers
• Fi
  Finglish — Phonetic transliteration for those who can speak but not read Persian