It must be remembered that though the translators are sympathetic to the overtones of the poem, still, due to the lack of available rhyming sounds in English, and the lack of subtle shadings in English words, the poem sounds stilted to the modern ear, and certainly does not have the dazzling musical effect of the Persian.

The translators point out that the matla establishes a mood of vastness and quiet. The images are the sky as a meadow, and the sickle moon, which suggests reaping, "in imagery very familiar to the Christian." In the second couplet the sun is introduced and contrasts to the moon, keeping the sky motif, and suggesting unconsciously to an agricultural people the ripening effect; for as the sun ripens the corn for harvest, so time and fate ripen a man's deeds. The third couplet is linked to the second – the reason not to "give up hope" – and carries the train of thought still further. Now the soul is "reaped" by God, and in ascending to the sky, outshines the sun. Purity and nakedness are required to raise the soul from the mundane to the transcendent, and the sun in Zoroastrian symbolism stood for God.

This spiritual element leads to the next theme in the fourth stanza, the transience of material things. For the moment the theme of reaping is gone. The sun and the moon are still in the background, for the image of the "night-robbing" star links the sky motif to this verse. The crown of Kaus and the belt of Kaikhushru refer to the past splendors of old Persia, thus the transience of earthly things is suggested. Yet the contrast between the "imposter" star and the sun could also suggest the mystical idea of the ego (the star) which veils the soul's true nature as God (the sun), suggesting that desire for material things impedes spiritual progress.

In the fifth couplet, the harvest undertone returns, but in the subconscious. Gold and ruby earrings weigh down the ear like a ripening cornstalk and fall. So, if such things are pursued, will the soul "fall."

In the sixth bayt, another theme is introduced, that of the "mole," a poetic convention for the beauty of the Beloved (who can mystically represent God). Thus it could stand either for God, Love, or Beauty, but it is interpolated into the sky and fate (chessboard) themes. Since it "beats" the moon and sun, it could be redemption from fate, or from the duality of the universe, which the moon and sun represent in mysticism (like the Chinese yin and yang).

The seventh couplet, the Husn-i-maqta, weaves the themes tighter, for it refers back to couplets 6, 4, 2 and 1 specifically. Now it is revealed that the "mole" stands for love, which reaps a harvest greater than all the glories of the world and the sky ("tawdry grandeur ").

The maqta, the final couplet, continues the duality theme, suggesting the comparison of religion and hypocrisy to the sun and moon, but in any event, the "fire" will burn up the "harvest" of religion. Unless there is reaping, all one's religious aspirations will come to naught (referring back to 2nd couplet). So Hafiz says to cast off the "woolen habit," the "kirgha," or Sufi robe, and "go." This could mean to cast off external appearances, or it could mean abandon formalism. "Go," completes the couplet and refers back to the last unlinked theme. Go where? To heaven, like the Messiah of verse 3. In that case, the mystical connotation could be that "zeal," per se, will not lead to spiritual progress, and in fact could in many cases hinder it by "burning up" what has already been accomplished. On the other hand, the interpretation could be a political warning to those who wear the "Sufi habit", that infiltration by zealots and hypocrites has placed them in a dangerous position and it is time to go "underground."

Though these various levels of meaning are important and will be dealt with at length below, the structural importance of the maqta in the poem is that it carries the associations from the verse immediately preceding and links them with the