Choose an author and select a poem to view and discover. More information about the poets are provided at the bottom of this page. Each poem is provided with a description and reference, as well as a short biography of the poet. Along with the original text in Farsi, each poem includes a translation of its meaning and a transliteration for accurate pronunciation. To facilitate the recitation of the poem, a number of songs, recitals and musical compositions are provided at the bottom of each page.
The time of union and meeting has come
Divan-e-Shams – Ghazal 34The praise of Your Oneness is eternal
Divan-e-Shams – Ghazal 356The Beloved is right here – come forth!
Divan-e-Shams – Ghazal 648You are the Ka'ba wherever I go
Divan-e-Shams – Ghazal 1377Abū Muḥammad ibn Abū Sāliḥ ʿAbdol-Qāder al-Gīlānī al-Ḥasanī wa'l-Ḥusaynī, also known as 'Abd-ol-Qāder Gīlāni (Persian: عبدالقادر گیلانی; 23 March 1078 – 21 February 1166), was a 12th-century faqih, Islamic scholar, theologian, and mystic originally from Gilan, Iran. At the age of 18 he moved to Baghdad to study sacred knowledge. Upon completing his education, Gilani embraced an ascetic lifestyle, wandering for 25 years. After this journey, he returned to teach and write about the inward (tassavof) and outward (shari'at) sacred sciences.
Abu Hamīd Ibn-e Abu-Bakr Ebrāhīm (Persian: ابو حامد بن ابوبکر ابراهیم; b. ~1145; d. ~1221), also known as Farīd-od-dīn (فرید الدین) and ʿAttār (عطار, meaning apothecary, chemist or herbalist), was a 12/13th-century Persian poetry and prose writer, hagiographer and Sufi mystic originally from Nishapur, Khorasan in Greater Iran. He had a momentous influence on the tassavof tradition in the Persianate world. His most distinguished work is the Manteq-ut-Teyr, The Conference of the Birds. He is also one of the major influences on Mawlana. He passed away in his hometown when facing the gruesome Mongol invasion of Khorasan.
Fakhr-od-Din 'Eraqi (Persian: فخرالدین ابراهیم عراقی; 10 June 1213 – 1289) was a Sufi master and renowned poet. He was born near Arak in Persia in 1213. During his lifetime he spent many years in Multan, as well as in Tokat and Konya, where he also met Mawlana. 'Eraqi's work mirrors the imagery of romantic poetry as he cleverly manipulates the lack of gendered third-person pronouns in the Persian language. He writes about transcendent or 'real' love ('eshq-e-haqīqi), mystical doctrines and spiritual gnosis, using the language of 'figurative love' ('eshq-e-mejāzi). ‘Eraqi is considered to have reached an exalted station of spiritual realisation and appears to be linked to the selseleh (authoritative spiritual lineage) of the Suhravardi Sufi order.
Khwāje Shams-od-Dīn Muḥammad Hāfez-e Shīrāzī (Persian: خواجه شمس‌‌الدین محمد حافظ شیرازی; 1315 – 1390) is the most recited poet in contemporary Iran. However, during his life he was not well known and is said to have never left his hometown of Shirāz. Given this lack of fame, there is little authenticated biographical information available on Hāfez. He lived during a time in which Shirāz was being seized by different rulers, including Timur the Lame. His work is predominantly concerned with extolling the transcendent beauties of this world, and as such he criticises pretentious, hypocritical and intolerant 'religious' folk of Shiraz. His personality remains a mystery until today and one will hear his poems being recited in religious, spiritual and secular contexts.
Nūr ad-Dīn 'Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (Persian: نورالدین عبدالرحمن جامی; 7 November 1414 – 9 November 1492), also known as Molla Jami, was a 15th-century Islamic scholar, theologian, logician, philosopher, mystic and Persian poet from Jam, Afghanistan. Jami is among the last giants of the golden era of Persian Literature which began to slowly wane after his death. His magnum opus is the Haft Aurang, the Seven Thrones, following a masnavi format (rhyming couplets), which includes the famous story of Yusuf-o-Zoleykha. Jami was a graduate of the Nizamiyyeh College in Herat and belonged to the Naqshbandi Sufi Order.
Jalal-od-Din Mohammad Balkhi (Persian: جلال‌الدین محمد بلخى; 30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), also known as Mawlavi, Mawlana and Rumi, was a 13th-century Persian poet, faqih, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic originally from Khorasan in Greater Iran (present-day Afghanistan). His works focus on “the roots of the roots of the roots of the religion”, in that they address the heart and soul of the Qurʾanic message and the Prophetic legacy. Much of his works are also dedicated to his spiritual guide and teacher, Shams-e-Tabrizi, who changed Mawlana's life by teaching him spiritual insights about God, His Creation, the Prophets, the saints and the unseen. Mawlana is the most well-known of all Persian poets.
Abū Muhammad Musleh-od-Dīn Ibn Abdallāh Shīrāzī (Persian: ابومحمد مصلح‌الدین بن عبدالله شیرازی; b. 1210; d. 1291/2), also known by his pen name Sa'di, was a 13th century Persian poet and prose writer. His work represents the highest levels of general Persian literature, and forms the basis of modern Farsi. The Bostān and the Golestān have been used as requisite text in Farsi curricula for centuries across the Persianate world. Sa'di's is known for his lasting wisdoms, expressions of kindness, as well humorous and clever social commentaries. From a scholarly lineage, Sa'di also became an alumnus of the Nezamiyyeh University of Baghdad.
Hakim Abul-Majd Majdūd ibn Ādam Sanā'ī Ghaznavi (Persian: حکیم ابوالمجد مجدود بن آدم سنایی غزنوی; born ca. 1087-1130), also known as Sanā'i Ghaznavi, or simply Sanā'i, was a 12th-century Persian poet celebrated for his homiletic poetry and influence on the development of mystical literature. He is recognised as the first poet to utilise Arabic verse-forms such as the qasīdeh (ode), the ghazal (lyric) and the masnavi (rhyming couplet) to express philosophical, mystical and ethical ideas in the tradition of Tassavof (Sufism). He hailed from Ghazna (modern-day Afghanistan) and was one of the major influences on Mawlana Rumi who emerged a century after.
Seyyed Nur-od-dīn Ne'matollah ibn Mohammad ibn Kamal-od-dīn Yahya Kuhbanani Mahani Kermani, also known as Shah Ne'matollah Vali (Persian: شاه نعمت‌الله ولی; born 1331 in Aleppo, Syria, died 1431 in Mahan, Iran), was a 14/15th-century Sufi master, Islamic scholar, and Persian poet from Arab (Kazemi) descent. After seeking knowledge and travelling extensively, he settled in Kerman (present-day Iran), establishing his Khanqah. He appears to be linked to the selseleh (authoritative spiritual lineage) of the Qaderi Sufi order, and is claimed to be the founder of the Ne'matollahi Order.
Bahāʾ al‐Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ḥusayn al‐ʿĀmilī (Persian: محمد بن عزالدين حسين; 18 February 1547 – 1 September 1621), also known as Sheikh Baha'i, was a 16/17th-century Islamic scholar, faqih, philosopher, architect, mathematician, astronomer, mystic and Persian poet from Esfahan, though born in Baalbek (Ottoman Syria). He was appointed as the Shaykh-ol-Islam of the Safavid Empire during the reign of Tahmasp I, and is recognised as a mojadded within the Twelver Shi'i tradition. Sheikh Baha'i also appears in the selseleh (authoritative spiritual lineage) of the Ne'matullahi Sufi order.