Hatef Esfahani

Seyyed Ahmad Hatef Esfahani (d. 1783) was a famous Iranian poet of the 18th century. He was renowned poet of the Persian language.

Poetry

 * In the church I said to a Christian charmer of hearts, 'O thou in whose net the heart is captive! O thou to the warp of whose girdle each hair-tip of mine is separately attached! How long wilt thou continue not to find the way to the Divine Unity? How long wilt thou impose on the One the shame of the Trinity? How can it be right to name the One True God "Father", "Son", and "Holy Ghost"? She parted her sweet lips and said to me, while with sweet laughter she poured sugar from her lips: 'If thou art aware of the Secret of the Divine Unity, do not cast on us the stigma of infidelity! In three mirrors the Eternal Beauty cast a ray from His effulgent countenance. Silk does not become three things if thou callest it Parniyan, Harir, and Parand. While we were thus speaking, this chant rose up beside us from the church bell: 'He is One and there is naught save He: There is no God save Him alone!'
 * A Literary History of Persia, translated by E. G. Browne, Vol. 4, p. 293-294