Hafiz, Poet and Sufi master
Hafiz came along a hundred years later (1320 to 1389). He lived most of his life in Shiraz. He is considered the most beloved poet of Persia, and one of the finest lyricists in the Persian language. He was a devout Sufi. He lived about the same time as Chaucer in England.
He became a famous Sufi master, a philosopher
“When I Was the Forest” by Meister Eckhart (1260 – 1328)
When I was the stream,
when I was the forest,
when I was still the field,
when I was every hoof, foot, fin and wing,
when I was the sky itself,
no one ever asked me did I have a purpose,
no one ever wondered
was there anything I might need,
for there was nothing I could not love.
“The Mystic, the Evangelical and the Fundamentalist” - Author Unknown
There is an old anecdote in which a mystic, an evangelical pastor and a fundamentalist preacher die on the same day and awake to find themselves by the pearly gates. Upon reaching the gates they are promptly greeted by Peter, who informs them that before entering heaven they must be interviewed by Jesus concerning the state of their doctrine. The first to be called forward…
SOURCE: ‘How (Not) To Speak of God by Peter Rollins (Paraclete Press, 2006), page 21