For centuries, readers have turned to the Persian poet Hafez of Shiraz not just for beautiful verses, but for guidance, solace, and a profound sense of hope. This isn’t a fleeting optimism, but a deep, resilient spiritual quality best described by the Persian word hemmat (همت). Hemmat is a powerful concept blending magnanimity, spiritual resolve, and a high-minded aspiration that refuses to be crushed by despair. It is the will to keep searching for the sun even when lost in the darkest night.


Hafez’s poetry is the very embodiment of this quality. But how does one cultivate it? The secret lies in understanding and emulating his most powerful archetype: the Rend, or the “Spiritual Rogue.” By embracing the way of the Rend, we can unlock the noble resolve needed to navigate a complex world with grace, authenticity, and unwavering hope.
Enter the Rend: The Archetype of Spiritual Freedom


The Rend is Hafez’s ideal human—a figure who is spiritually free, utterly devoted to the path of love, and courageously authentic in a world of hypocrisy. The Rend is not a scoundrel, but a wise soul who has the high-mindedness to see beyond the superficial judgments of society.


This archetype creates hemmat by liberating us from the two greatest drains on our spiritual energy: fear of judgment and rigid dogma. The Rend embodies a philosophy that allows one to stand firm in their own truth. The key characteristics include:

  • Inner Truth over Outer Piety: The Rend frequents the tavern, a metaphor for a place of authentic, ecstatic spiritual experience, rather than the mosque or monastery, which often represent rigid, performative piety.
  • Indifference to Reputation: The Rend is called a rogue, a wanderer, even a sinner by the outwardly pious, but is completely unbothered. Their self-worth comes from their inner connection to the Divine (the “Beloved”), not from public opinion.
  • Embracing Paradox: The Rend lives comfortably in the gray areas of life, understanding that joy and sorrow, the sacred and the profane, are often intertwined.
    By choosing authenticity over conformity, the Rend develops a powerful inner resolve. This freedom is the very foundation of hope, as it proves that one’s inner state does not have to be a casualty of external pressures.
    The Rend’s Wisdom: Five Verses from Hafez
    To truly understand the Rend, we must hear from Hafez himself. These five passages reveal the core of this rebellious and enlightened mindset.
  1. On Rejecting Hypocrisy for Authentic Joy

“In the tavern with the Magi, I am a pupil still, and this is my only work; / Shun the one whose heart is black, but whose robes are pure white.”

Analysis: This is a direct attack on hypocrisy. The Rend would rather be a humble student in a place of authentic spiritual joy (the tavern) than associate with the outwardly “pure” who are inwardly corrupt. This verse champions seeking genuine experience over performing piety.

  1. On Freedom from Dogma
    “My heart grew weary of the cloister and the frayed robes of the sheikh; / My path is now to the wine-seller’s tavern, to the way of the wild ones.”

Analysis: Here, the Rend explicitly rejects the confines of institutional religion, which has become stale and life-denying. The “wild ones” are those who live by their own spiritual rhythm. This is a declaration of independence for the soul, showing that true spirituality cannot be contained by walls or rules.

  1. On Indifference to Reputation
    “Hafez, they slandered your name as a ‘rend’ and a drinker, but don’t let it grieve you; / Even the heads of the pietists have been stained with hypocrisy.”

Analysis: This is the Rend’s armor. Hafez, speaking of himself as the archetype, acknowledges the slander but dismisses it by pointing out that the accusers are themselves flawed. The Rend knows that public opinion is fickle and often hypocritical, so they place their faith in their own integrity, not in their reputation.

  1. On Finding the Sacred Everywhere
    “Last night, I saw angels knock on the door of the tavern; / They shaped the clay of Adam and molded it into a cup.”

Analysis: This sublime verse dissolves the boundary between the sacred and the profane. The Rend understands that divinity is not confined to holy places. Even in the tavern—a symbol of earthly pleasure and intoxication—angels are at work, performing the sacred act of creation. For the Rend, the entire world is a potential site of divine encounter.

  1. On the Ultimate Path of Love
    “Those who turn dust into gold with a glance of their alchemy, / Should they also cast a passing glance upon our state?”

Analysis: The Rend’s ultimate pursuit is Love, personified as the “Beloved” whose glance is an act of alchemy, transforming the worthless into the precious. The path of the Rend is one of utter devotion, seeking this transformative connection above all else—above piety, reputation, or worldly success. This singular focus gives them an unshakable purpose and resolve.
How to Emulate the Rend in Your Own Life
The way of the Rend is not about abandoning responsibility, but about radically reorienting your life around an authentic inner compass. Here are five ways to cultivate your own Rend-like hemmat:

  • Cultivate Inner Authenticity: Ask yourself: “Am I doing this because it’s true to my soul, or because it’s what’s expected of me?” Prioritize the former. Journal, meditate, and spend time discovering what truly gives you a sense of purpose and joy, separate from external validation.
  • Detach from Public Opinion: Recognize that you cannot control what others think of you. Practice letting go of the need for approval. When you act from a place of integrity, the opinions of those who don’t understand your path become irrelevant. This is the source of the Rend’s unshakeable confidence.
  • Embrace Life’s Paradoxes: Stop seeing the world in black and white. Allow yourself to be both spiritual and flawed, joyful and grieving, serious and playful. The Rend finds freedom in accepting the beautiful, messy complexity of being human.
  • Find Joy in the Present Moment: The tavern is a symbol of ecstatic presence. Whether it’s through music, nature, good food, or the company of friends, find your “tavern”—a place where you can be fully present and experience the divinity in the everyday.
  • Practice Love as the Ultimate Truth: Orient your actions around love and compassion—for others and for yourself. For the Rend, love is the ultimate spiritual practice and the alchemical force that turns the “dust” of ordinary life into “gold.”
    In the end, Hafez does not offer easy answers. He offers something far more valuable: a share of his own unbreakable spirit. By walking the path of the Rend, we learn to cultivate hemmat—the noble resolve to face the darkness, celebrate the light, and find a profound and enduring hope, no matter the circumstances.

Here is a few bars of Persian Setar from maestro Kourosh Taghavi