Surveying the Position and Meaning of "Remembrance and Memory" in the Poetical Thought of Hafez

Memory and remembrance constitute the central theme of Hafez's poetic thought, and for this reason, they hold the utmost significance in his intellectual system. Hafez is a contemplative poet—meaning his poetry is directed toward answering the most fundamental questions of human existence: questions concerning the ground of being, the purpose of the creation of the world and humanity, the meaning of life, and so forth.
Hafez considers love and friendship to be the secret of creation, an event that, in an eternal past, led to the creation of the world and humankind. Within this framework, the human being possesses a loving/ rend-like existence, for unlike all other creatures, he possesses an understanding and perception of love. For this reason, Hafez calls man "mad," "ruined," and "intoxicated." Yet precisely because of this loving awareness, man finds himself in a state of exile and estrangement, exposed to danger and threatened by the flood of annihilation. Hafez holds that the condition for living humanely in a world replete with vicissitudes, pain, and suffering lies in the remembrance and recollection of that primordial event—the entrusting of the Divine Trust (amānat) to humankind.