Hafiz, Mohammed

(surnamed SHEMS EDDIN, "son of religion,") the most popular of the Persian poets, was B. at Shiraz, and flourished in the 14th cent. Like A nacre on, his verse is dedicated to love and wine. The complete collection of his odes is entitled the Divan; they have been the subject of numerous commentaries, and it is a standing controversy whether they are to be interpreted literally or allegorically. Some of the odes have been translated into English by Sir. W. Jones and others, and the whole collection has been translated into German. He D. about 1389; and his countrymen erected a monument to his memory, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1825. Hafnarfiord, ( haf -nar- fe - ōrd ',) a seaport-town in Iceland, on a small bay of its own name, S.S.E. of Reikiavik. Haft, n. [A. S. hæft , from hæften , to seize or take; Ger. heft, a handle. That part of an instrument or ve el which is taken in the hand; as, the haft of a knife. -v. a. To furnish with a haft, hilt, or handle.