The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan

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When we read the works of Hafiz and of many other Sufi poets, we shall find that they are full of the same imagery and this is partly because that was the time of Islam. The mission of Islam had a particular object in view, and in order to attain that object it had strict rules about life. A free-thinker had difficulty in expressing his thoughts without being accused of having done a great wrong towards the religion and the State. And these freethinkers of Persia, with their dancing soul and continual enthusiasm, began to express their soul in this particular imagery, using words such as "the beloved", "wine", wine-press", and "tavern." And this poetry became so popular that not only the wise derived benefit from it, but also the simple ones enjoyed the beauty of its wonderful expressions which make an immediate appeal to every soul. There is no doubt that the souls which were already awakened and those on the point of awakening were inspired by these poems. Souls which were opening their eyes after the deep slumber of many years began to rise up and dance; as Hafiz says, "If those pious ones of long robes listen to my verse, my song, they will immediately begin to get up and dance." And then he says at the end of the poem, "Forgive me, O pious ones, for I am drunk just now!'


 
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