Hafez (1324-1391 ), the greatest master of Persian lyric poetry and the literary giant of the 14th century, was born in Shiraz, chose to live there all his life ( except for a short journey), sang its praises in incomparable verse and was buried there in a garden known after him as the Hafezieh, in the northeast part of.thecity. The extraordinary pop~larity and the wide appeal of this great lyric poet among all Persian-speaking people make his tomb a venerated place, visited by all.
The present mausoleum, standing in a lovely garden, dates from 1936-38. It is approached by flights of stone steps, at the top of which a double colonnade is crossed to reach the tomb under a tiled cupola. The cupola resembles a dervish's hat, is in slabs, and is covered inside with mosaic faience of wonderful design. The alabaster tombstone and four central columns of the colonnade alone date from the reign of Karim Khan Zand. The tombstone is beautifully inscribed with two of Hafez's Ghaza/s. Visitors to the tomb can still, as they have done for centuries, take the omens, or faa/s, by picking a page at random from a volume of Hafez, kept ready for this purpose.
His near-contemporary Jami considered that the virtually untranslatable poetry of Hafez "with all its sweetness, delicacy, fresh ness, ease, elegance, flow, agreeableness and unaffectedness, is something very near a miracle; it is a just object of pride not only for Persians: it is a source of glory for all mankind. "
Hafez is the pen name of Shams ad-Din Mohammad, and means "he who knows [The Koranl] by heart".