Insult by a Religious Reciter to the Giants of Persian Literature

Some time ago, in one of the mourning gatherings in Iran, a religious reciter (Mehdi Ra’nāei) performed a poem in which many of the great masters of Persian poetry and literature were declared sacrificed for the poet of “From my soul I smell the scent of Karbala at every moment”! Later, they claimed that what was meant were the works of those masters, not the masters themselves!

It is clear that the poet of this religious recitation failed to convey his intent. Instead of praising the Third Imam of the Shi‘a and his companions, he exaggeratedly praised a single poet (a Qajar king), resulting in verses that came across as insulting to the great figures of Persian literature.

Again, the question: has this eulogist (or poet) researched the origin of the verse “From my soul I smell”? According to Dr. Heshmatollah Paktinat, the poet was Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1).

Whoever the poet may have been—whether Naser al-Din Shah or some obscure poet—his legacy can never match the grandeur of Persian literary masters.

In fact, the poem recited by this religious reciter was less a lamentation for Ashura or praise of the Third Imam than an excessive panegyric for a Qajar king—so much so that the works of greats like Ferdowsi, Hafez, Rumi, Nezami, and others were portrayed as “sacrificed” for Naser al-Din Shah’s verse!

Here is the text recited by the religious reciter:

The entire divan of Nezami, Rudaki, and Dehlavi

Anvari and Onsori, Khaqani and a hundred Rumis

 

The tales of the Shahnameh, Rostam and Esfandiyar

The poems of Sa‘di and Khayyam and hundreds of Shahriars

 

Hatif and ‘Attar and Sa’eb, Hafez and the mystics too

All sacrificed for the poet who composed this quatrain:

 

“From my soul I smell the scent of Karbala at every moment,

On my heart I fear will remain the longing for Karbala.

 

I thirst for the water of the Euphrates, O death grant me respite,

Until I embrace the grave of the martyr of Karbala.

After criticism of this religious recitation, the religious reciter called his critics “ignorant.” Once again, in another gathering, the incident was brought up, and in his reply he said:

One can understand, even with a superficial glance,

I did not say that a poet should be sacrificed for a poet.

 

What I said was that the poems of all poets

Should be sacrificed for the poet of this verse—so read it fully.

 

Moreover, everyone who can read and write knows well

That exaggeration is one of the techniques of poetry.

 

Pay a little attention—this ignorance is enough,

All this malice and disbelief is enough.

He then began reciting the same earlier poem! With this reply, he only made things worse: instead of apologizing, he branded his critics as “ignorant”! But truly—who is ignorant here? It is clear he has no understanding of the concerns of those who cherish Iranian culture and literature, and he dwells in another world entirely.

Yes, exaggeration is a poetic device—but at what cost? In this religious recitation, all were sacrificed for a Qajar king! A king who would drunkenly issue death sentences, during whose reign parts of Iran’s territory were lost! A king who sometimes wrote poems, sometimes painted, and so on—but whose works never came close to those of the great masters of Iranian culture.

Whether it was the poets themselves or their poems sacrificed to Naser al-Din Shah, it makes no difference: a wrongheaded verse was uttered, likely due to the poet’s inability to convey meaning.

The religious reciter, meanwhile, sang it only to stir up passion in the gathering—so that, since everyone knew the verse “From my soul I smell”, they would beat their chests harder and the ceremony would heat up. It would have been far better to apologize instead of continuing the nonsense.

Sadly, for years such anti-Iranian and divisive remarks have been repeated in religious gatherings—gatherings often backed by official institutions.

Another example: words spoken against Nowruz—“So what?! Winter has turned into spring, who cares!!! Everyone’s just waiting for some ball to drop.” Let’s hope these things are not part of an organized campaign to belittle Iranian culture!

In any case, the best response to such poetry is with poetry. Here is a newly composed poem written in reply to that religious reciter’s nonsense:

The king and cleric who wrote “From my soul I smell”

Are but the dust beneath a single ghazal of Hafez and the mystics.

 

Dust beneath a single page of the Shahnameh,

Dust beneath the epics Ferdowsi wove into poetry

 

The poet of “At every moment I smell the scent of Karbala”

Should bow his head before Sa‘di, Khayyam, and Khaqani.

 

Long live Hatif, ‘Attar, and eternal love,

The entire works of Nezami, he who captured hearts.

 

Rumi’s poetry, with its hidden mysteries,

Anvari and Onsori, let us honor Rudaki.

 

Sa’eb of Tabriz and the uproar of Dehlavi’s song,

Long live Persian, in every rise and fall!

 

From my soul I smell at every moment the scent of Persian,

In my heart forever remains the clamor of Persian.

 

I thirst for the pure waters of its shining river,

May the glow and beauty of Persian endure forever.