The beauty of classical Persian poetry lies not only in its imagery and philosophical depth but also in its musical pulse—the hidden rhythm that carries every couplet. That pulse springs from the art of ʿAruz (عروض), the quantitative prosody inherited from Arabic and adapted with elegant subtlety into Persian. In this post, we’ll explore how ʿAruz works, why it matters, and how it shapes the aesthetic experience of poets from Ferdowsi to Hafez and Rumi.

1. Origins of ʿAruz: From Arabic to Persian

• Al-Khalīl’s Legacy
  In the 8th century CE, the grammarian al-Khalīl ibn Aḥmad al-Farāhīdī codified the first systematic theory of Arabic meter, identifying patterns of long (–) and short (u) syllables and classifying them into sixteen “meters” (abjād).

• Persian Adoption
  As Persian poets embraced Arabic poetic forms, they adapted ʿAruz to Persian’s own phonology. They preserved al-Khalīl’s basic patterns while accommodating Persian’s tendency toward open (CV) and closed (CVC) syllables. Over time, these metres became the backbone of Persian verse, from epic masnavis to intimate ghazals.

2. Quantitative Meter: The Building Blocks

Unlike English iambs or trochees (which rely on stress), ʿAruz is quantitative—it counts the length of syllables:

• Short syllable (u): A vowel alone (e.g., be, di).

• Long syllable (–):

  • A vowel + consonant (CVC), e.g., dast

  • A long vowel (CVː), e.g., rā

• Overlong (– –): Sometimes a syllable plus two consonants, counted as long + short (– u).

Patterns of longs and shorts combine into feet (e.g., fa‘ūlun = – u – –), and sequences of feet define each bahr (بحر, “sea” or “metre”).

3. The Sixteen Classical Meters

Al-Khalīl’s system names sixteen meters by their root letters (e.g., ṭ-و-ي for Ṭawīl). Persian prosodists retained most of these but favored a handful. Here’s a snapshot of some key Persian meters:

Legend: – = long; u = short

4. Four Popular Persian Meters

Bahr-e-Ṭawīl (Epic Sweep)

Pattern:

– u – – | – u – u – –  
– u – – | – u – u – –

Example (Ferdowsi, Shahnameh):

“به نام خداوند جان و خرد
کزین برتر اندیشه بر نگذرد”

This expansive metre suits Ferdowsi’s sweeping tales of kings and heroes.

Bahr-e-Hazaj (Lyrical Flow)

Pattern:

– u – u – u – u  
– u – u – u – u

Example (Hafez, Ghazal):

“دل می‌رود ز دستم، صاحب‌دلان خدا را
دردم به جان رسید ای طبیب، مداوا را”

Its gently undulating rhythm enhances the intimacy of ghazals.

Bahr-e-Ramal (Reflective Cadence)

Pattern:

– u – u – u –  
– u – u – u –

Use: Meditative and philosophical couplets.

Bahr-e-Kamil (Mystical Weight)

Pattern:

– u – – u – –  
– u – – u – –

Use: Sufi didactic poems (e.g., works by Sanai and Rumi).

5. Scanning a Line: A Step-by-Step

Take Hafez’s opening couplet above in Hazaj. To scan:

1. Transliterate and identify syllables:
   del mī-ravad zo dast-am, sāheb-e-del-ān khodā rā

2. Mark long (–) vs. short (u) syllables:
   – u – u – u – u | – u – u – u – u

3. Divide into feet:
   fa‘ūlun | fa‘ūlun | fa‘ūlun | fa‘ūlun

Mastering scansion reveals how each long/short sequence shapes the poem’s musical contour.

6. Why Meter Matters

• Emotional Resonance: The alternation of length creates tension and release—mirroring the poem’s themes of longing, joy, or lament.

• Memorability: Regular patterns aid memorization and oral recitation, essential in pre-printing cultures.

• Aesthetic Unity: Meter links every couplet, ensuring that even in a sequence of diverse ideas, the poem feels like a single sonic tapestry.

• Creative Constraint: Poets channel their inventiveness within the metre’s framework, leading to astonishing linguistic feats—punning, metaphor, and syntactic turns that surprise the reader without breaking the rhythmic spell.

7. From Manuscript to Majlis: Performance and Legacy

In classical gatherings (majlis), a reciter (munshid) would chant verses, elongating long syllables and lightly glossing over shorts—much like a singer ornaments a melody. Today’s readers can rediscover that oral splendor by:

1. Listening to Recordings: Seek out traditional recitations of Hafez or Rumi in Hazaj and Ṭawīl.

2. Practicing Scansion: Mark a quatrain, tap out longs and shorts, and read aloud.

3. Imitating the Pulse: Even in translation or modern languages, try to echo the metre’s rise and fall.

Conclusion

The metre of ʿAruz is the invisible heartbeat of classical Persian poetry. By mapping out patterns of long and short, it transforms words into a living music—one that resonates across centuries. Whether you’re immersed in the heroism of the Shahnameh, the moonlit romance of Hafez’s ghazals, or the mystical teachings of Rumi’s masnavi, attuning to metre opens a new dimension of appreciation: where every syllable becomes a note in an age-old symphony of the soul.