My mother was a very sensible and educated lady who loved reading books. She had poetic and artistic talents and was a connoisseur of Hafez, not in scientific terms, but she had familiarity with Hafez. She was also quite familiar with the Quran and recited it in a great voice.
When we were kids, we used to sit and listen to my mother recite the Quran; she used to recite the Quran so sweetly. We used to gather around her and based on different observances, she would recite verses about the lives of the prophets. For the first time, I heard from my mother about the life of Moses, Abraham and other prophets (pbut). While she was reciting Quran, she used to stop and explain to us the life of prophets.
Some of Hafez's poetry that I still remember, after sixty years, is among poems that I heard from my mother; for example, I remember these verses:
In the morning when, his standard on the mountainous lands, the king of the east (rising sunn) pitched,
With the hand of mercy, the door of hopeful ones, my beloved beat
***
Last night I saw the angels
tapping at the wine-shop’s door.
And kneading Adam’s dust,
and molding it as cups for wine;
What I intend to say is that she was a gentle, very sensible lady, who loved her children- just like any other mother, and cared for them.
~Ayatollah Khamenei, February 3, 1998
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