A Comparative Examination and Analysis of Hafez’s and Mahwi’s Views on the Question of Love and Its Various Dimensions

Abstract

In Islamic mysticism, love is not a secondary emotion, but rather an ontological, life-giving reality and the ultimate end of the spiritual wayfarer’s path. Using a comparative analytical method, this study examines the various dimensions of love—true and metaphorical love, longing, attraction, annihilation, subsistence, and amorous symbolism—in the diwans of two prominent poets of Persian and Kurdish literature, Hafez Shirazi and Mulla Muhammad Mahwi. The main objective is to identify the fundamental similarities and differences in the definition and representation of love in the works of these two poets and to explain the causes of these differences on the basis of their cultural and linguistic contexts. The findings indicate that both poets regard love as the essence of existence and the sole path to union with Absolute Truth; nevertheless, Hafez represents love in connection with rindī, ambiguity, artistic aesthetics, and the conscious integration of metaphorical and true love, whereas Mahwi associates love with inner burning, annihilation, ascetic discipline, and the mystical experience of spiritual wayfaring. Hafez’s amorous mysticism has a hermeneutic and interpretive character, inviting the audience to uncover the hidden layers of meaning, while Mahwi’s mysticism is intuitive, existential, and grounded in the direct feeling of the Beloved’s presence. These differences are rooted in the divergent historical, social, and linguistic backgrounds of the two poets: Shiraz during the Muzaffarid period, as opposed to Kurdistan during the Ottoman period. Ultimately, through their poetic language, both poets offered an enduring model of the “religion of love,” which continues to flow within Persian and Kurdish literary culture.