_Stanza 1._—Those who have seen a Persian garden will not find it
difficult to understand why it should play so large a part in Persian
poetry. Often enough you may pass with one step out of a barren desert
of dust and stones into one of these green and fertile spots, full of
violets in the spring, and of roses and lilies in the early summer; and
from the blinding glare of a Persian sun into a cool and shadowy retreat
planted with great plane-trees. The water which flows in numberless
streams through the garden, and leaps in countless fountains, has worked
all the miracle. The change from desert to flowery paradise is one of
those strong contrasts so common in the East which take hold of the
imagination of all who see them.
_Stanza 3._—That is, do not attempt to light the torches of a Mahommadan
monastery from the lamp of a Jewish synagogue. One of the most famous of
the Prophet’s sayings is: there is no monasticism in Islam.
Nevertheless, from the time of Abu Bekr and Ali onwards, such religious
associations grew up and flourished. Nearly all the celebrated doctors
of whom the Sufis boast in the first six hundred years after the Hejra
belonged to them.
“Verily our messengers write down that which ye deceitfully devise,”
says the Koran (chap. x.). Two guardian angels attend every man and
write down his actions; they are changed daily and a fresh pair takes
their place. The books which they have written shall be produced on the
Day of Judgment.
_Stanza 4._—It was this verse which decided the right of Hafiz to
receive honourable burial.