Semiotics of Mystical Terms in the Poetry of Abd al-Muʿṭī Ḥijāzī and Hafez

Abstract

This study examines the semiotics of mystical terms in the poetry of Abd al-Muʿṭī Ḥijāzī and Hafez of Shiraz and seeks to demonstrate how mystical vocabulary and terminology in the poetry of these two poets move beyond the level of lexical meaning and become multilayered and interpretive signs. Hafez, as one of the most prominent poets of the Persian mystical tradition, employs terms such as wine, cupbearer, tavern, Magian elder, and libertine to express amorous, intuitive, and epistemic experiences. In his poetry, these terms oscillate between apparent and esoteric meanings and construct a rich network of mystical and philosophical significations. By contrast, Abd al-Muʿṭī Ḥijāzī, a prominent contemporary Arab poet, draws on the capacities of symbolic and mystical language to express human, social, and existential experiences, recreating traditional concepts within a new and modern context. The findings of this study indicate that, in Hafez’s poetry, mystical terms primarily serve the expression of the unity of being, spiritual wayfaring, and the experience of divine love, whereas in Ḥijāzī’s poetry, these terms sometimes become instruments for articulating alienation, anxiety, historical defeat, and the search for meaning in the contemporary world. Accordingly, the comparative study of these two poets shows that mystical terms in both poetic languages, while maintaining their connection with tradition, possess the capacity to generate new meanings within different cultural and historical contexts.