_Stanza 1._—Khizr—see Note to the third stanza of Poem XVIII.
_Stanza 2._—The quarter of Jafrabad has ceased to exist. Its position
was to the east of the town, opposite to the fields and to the ruined
mosque of Mosalla. Between Jafrabad and Mosalla runs the highroad to
Isfahan, traversing, at the distance of a mile from Shiraz, the pass of
Allahu Akbar.
The angel Gabriel, the Holy Spirit, is the highest of all the angels. It
is his duty to write down the decrees of God; through him the Koran was
revealed to Mahommad, and it is he who, hovering above the throne of
God, shelters it with his wings. Hafiz therefore claims for Shiraz the
protection of him who is guardian of the highest place in heaven.
Ibn Batuta, the Arab traveller who visited Shiraz about the year 1340,
has left a charming description of the native town of Hafiz and of the
manners of his contemporaries. “Shiraz,” he says, “is a well-built town
of a great size, a wide celebrity, and a high place among cities. It
possesses pleasant gardens, far-reaching streams, excellent markets,
fine streets, and a numerous population. The town is constructed with
taste and admirably arranged; each trade has its own bazaar. The
inhabitants are a fine race and well clad. Shiraz lies in a plain;
gardens surround it on every side; and five rivers flow through it,
amongst them one called Ruknabad, a stream of which the water is
excellent to drink, very cold in summer and warm in winter. The
principal mosque is called the Old Mosque; it is as spacious and as well
built as any one could wish to see. The court of it is vast and paved
with marble; in hot weather it is washed with fresh water every night.
The wealthy citizens come there every evening to repeat the prayers of
sunset and of night. The inhabitants of Shiraz are well-to-do, pious,
and chaste; the women in particular are distinguished for their modesty.
They go completely veiled, give much in alms, and repair three times a
week to the great mosque. Often as many as two thousand are assembled
there, sitting with fans in their hands on account of the great heat.
Each day in one of the mausoleums the whole Koran is read aloud, and the
readers have very beautiful voices. The people bring with them fruits
and sweetmeats, and when the congregation has finished eating, the
preacher begins his discourse. This takes place between the mid-day and
the evening prayers.” Ibn Batuta struck up acquaintance with a Sheikh
whom he found seated in a small hermitage at the corner of a mosque. The
Sheikh was engaged in reading the Koran. In answer to Ibn Batuta’s
questions, he told him that he had founded the mosque himself, and that
the hermitage was to be his tomb. Lifting a carpet, he showed him his
grave, covered over with planks. “In that box,” he said, pointing to a
chest opposite to him, “are my winding-sheet, some spices with which my
corpse will be perfumed, and a few pieces of money which I earned by
digging a well for a pious man. The money will serve to pay for my
burial, and what is left over will be distributed among the poor.” “I
admired his conduct,” adds Ibn Batuta. “One of the mausoleums outside
the town,” he continues, “contains the tomb of Sheikh Sa’di, the first
poet of his time. Close at hand is a hermitage built by Sa’di himself,
surrounded by a charming garden. It is situated near the source of the
Ruknabad. In the garden Sheikh Sa’di constructed a number of basins for
the washing of clothes. The citizens of Shiraz make parties of pleasure
to this mausoleum; they eat food prepared in the hermitage, wash their
garments in the river, and at sunset return to the town. So did I also.
May God have mercy on Shiraz!” he concludes piously.