Hafez

Hafez, born Khajeh Shams od-Din Mohammad Hafez Shirazi, was a Persian lyric poet who lived from around 1325 to 1390 in Shiraz, in what is now Iran. He is best known for his Divan, a collection of ghazals probably compiled after his death, in which he explored love, wine and religious ecstasy in verse regarded by many Iranians as among the highest achievements of Persian literature. A practicing Sufi, Hafez wrote in a mystical, ambiguous style that has invited centuries of commentary and interpretation, and Persian speakers still commonly consult his poems for guidance in a divination practice known as fal-e hafez. His tomb in Shiraz remains a place of regular visitation, and his influence on Persian poetry after his death is considered unmatched by any other Persian author.