Fal-e Hafez
Persian divination in which a person asks a question and opens the poems of Hafez at random.
Also: fal, Hafez divination, Divan of Hafez, faal
In Iran, Afghanistan and Persian-speaking communities elsewhere, a person may make an intention, open the Divan of Hafez and read the poem on the page. The poet Hafez of Shiraz lived in the 1300s, and his ghazals are loved for their layers of meaning, which makes them suitable for personal reading. A relative or a reader may interpret the verse. The custom is common at Yalda night in December and at Nowruz, the Persian new year, and visitors to his tomb in Shiraz also make wishes. The word fal comes from Arabic and means omen. Some religious scholars question it, while many families see it as a gentle ritual of poetry and hope.