October 12 is the day in which Hafez is honored in Iran. Hafez Day gives us an opportunity to analyze the relationship between his viewpoints and our culture and tradition.

Renowned Iranian Hafez expert Baha’eddin Khorramshahi has said that Hafez is our memory. This is an important point that should be clarified.
It is obvious that many thinkers and intellectuals reflect the spirit of their culture. For example, Shakespeare illustrates an important part of British culture and through his works we can understand some aspects of the tradition in which he grew up. Other luminaries have reflected some elements of their cultures, but the position of Hafez and a few other Iranian luminaries in depicting the characteristics of our tradition is incomparable.
We can see the viewpoints of many poets and thinkers of Iranian culture in Hafez’s poems. In addition to their mystical, religious, cultural, and psychological aspects, the views of some philosophers like Farabi and Avicenna are also evident in his poems. Molana Rumi, Saadi, al-Ghazali, Ferdowsi, and Razi are some Iranian poets, scholars, and philosophers whose views are found in Hafez’s poems.
Some norms of Iranian practical wisdom are also reflected in his poems and statements. He shows us some important layers of the Iranian spirit. This is why Hafez is not just a poet. He is the essence of our culture. He reflects so many aspects of Iranian culture and tradition. So when it is said that Hafez is our memory, it means that he has embedded some important aspects of our identity in his poems.
He not only gathers the entire body of wisdom of his own culture but also represents the practical knowledge of his tradition. Although we cannot forget his incredible statements, Iranians’ adoration of his poetry can only be explained by the fact that he speaks in the spiritual language of their culture.
Some continental philosophers like the existentialists believe that there is a deep link between memory and identity. In their approach, the human being does not have entity, but rather he/she has historical identity. And the historical identity is acquired through memory. One who does not have a good memory does not have a good identity. When it is said that Hafez is our memory, it means he is our identity.
Identity relates to our picture of human beings, the world, and society, and Hafez shows the Iranian picture of them. If Iranians praise his poems, it is not merely for their beautiful form. Iranians have read his poetry for centuries because he speaks about their identity and lifestyle. They empathize with these poems because of this common identity. This is the other meaning of the statement that some poets and thinkers definitively represent their cultures. They focused on the characteristics of identity and the memory of that identity.
Some intellectuals say our world has an identity crisis. This means we lose our memory in order to establish a rational and spiritual relationship with our historical identity. In this domain, some luminaries like Hafez for the Iranian culture, Buddha for the Buddhist culture, and Plato for the Western culture, can help us solve this problem. They tried to connect us with some basic elements of these cultures.
So when it is said that Hafez is our memory or Plato is the Westerners’ memory, it puts emphasis on the important role luminaries and poets play in connecting us to our historical identity. This is the first step for resolving the identity crisis. If there is a serious problem of identity in our world, it is because of our inability to establish a good intellectual relationship with our poets and luminaries.
It should be called an “identity problem” rather than an identity crisis because it is obvious that when the people of a culture establish a good relationship with their luminaries, they do not have an identity crisis.
The term “identity problem” can illustrate the cultural condition of our world. We have Hafez, Plato, and Buddha in our worlds, and we can establish a dialogue with their texts, so we should not have an identity crisis. These luminaries are our memory and we can reconnect to our history with their help. They guarantee the existence of our identity. Indeed, they reaffirm our identity.