This 700-Year-Old Poet Still Gets Millions of Visitors - Here's Why

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]700 years ago, a Persian poet changed how the world thinks about love and God.

[00:00:05]His name was Hafez, and his tomb in Iran is still visited by millions today. But, here's what made him revolutionary.

[00:00:12]While other mystics rejected earthly pleasures, Hafez embraced them. He wrote love songs about wine and romance, poetry so scandalous that religious authorities wanted it banned. Yet, hidden in every verse was profound spiritual wisdom. Hafez discovered something brilliant. He used earthly love as a metaphor for divine love. A poem about missing your beloved was really about longing for God. A verse about wine was about spiritual intoxication. This allowed him to speak to everyone. Scholars found deep meaning. Tavern poets found beautiful words. Even today, millions open his book of poems for guidance when facing tough decisions. Goethe called him his twin. His technique became the foundation of Persian literature. Hafez taught that you don't find God by rejecting the world. You find the divine by fully embracing human emotion and beauty. Sometimes, the most profound truths hide in plain sight.