Birth and early years Abolqasem Aref Qazvini was born in
Qazvin in . His birthplace in Qazvin is given as the "Panbeh-riseh" neighborhood. His father was "Molla Hadi Vakil", who worked as a legal representative in Qazvin. His mother's name was Khanom-Naz, and Aref was their third son. His ancestors were from the Maraghiyan of Rudbar-e Mohammad-Zaman Khan (in the Rudbar region of Alamut). Two generations before Aref, they were
Zoroastrians. Aref learned Arabic and Persian grammar in Qazvin, and wrote
shekasteh and
nasta'liq very well. He learned Iranian traditional music in 14 months with Mirza Sadeq Kharazi. For a period, at his father's insistence, he attended the sermons of Mirza Hossein Va'ez (one of Qazvin's preachers), performed
noha recitation, and wore a turban; after his father's death, he removed the turban and stopped
Rawda Khwani. Aref had two older brothers. According to Aref himself, his parents argued constantly, which made life difficult for him and his brothers. He held a negative view of his father, describing him as treacherous and lacking judgment. His resentment was such that after his father's death he acted contrary to his father's wishes: he did not take the body to
Karbala for burial, and he turned inherited land that his father had willed for
Rowzeh-khani into a vineyard so that
wine production could take place there. Nevertheless, he also states that his father did not neglect helping him learn
calligraphy and music.
Marriage At the age of 17, Aref became interested in a girl named "Khanom-Bala" and secretly
married her. He composed the
tasnif "I Saw a Beloved" () in her praise. After her family found out, pressure on Aref increased and he was forced to go to
Rasht; after returning, despite strong affection, he divorced her and never married again.
Middle years and the Constitutional Revolution ;
Dinshah Irani; and Aref Qazvini; Badi' al-Hokama; Jalal al-Din Keyhan (Iran's consul general in Bombay); Maryam Badi' (daughter of Badi' al-Hokama); unidentified; Monavvar Badi' (wife of Badi' al-Hokama).Photograph taken at Badi' al-Hokama's house on Beyn-ol-Nahrayn Street, Hamadan, 1932. In 1898, Aref went to
Tehran and, because he had a good voice, became acquainted with
Qajar princes, including Mowthaq-od-Dowleh Maghrur Mirza and
Mirza Ali-Asghar Khan Atabak, the court's
grand vizier. After
Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar heard Aref's voice, he decided to grant him a stipend, but Aref—critical of the court—left Tehran on the pretext of inspecting his properties in
Qazvin and avoided accepting the stipend. In the years leading up to 1905–1906, as the
Persian Constitutional Revolution neared victory, Aref composed poems in support of the movement that gained him popularity among the public and constitutionalists. As the movement continued, he kept writing political poetry, which became known not only in Iran but also in
Turkey,
Afghanistan, and
Iraq. During
World War I (1914–1918), while Hassan Mostofi al-Mamalek was prime minister, the
Russian army entered Iran and advanced toward Tehran despite Iran's declared neutrality.
Ahmad Shah Qajar considered moving the capital from Tehran to
Isfahan (a plan that was not carried out). Some politicians, reacting to the situation, went from Tehran to
Qom and formed the "National Defense Committee", which was attacked by Russian forces. In 1916–1917 this group went to
Kermanshah and formed an independent cabinet, headed by Nezam al-Saltaneh Mafi. Aref traveled with them to
Qasr-e Shirin. Around this time, one of Aref's friends, Abdolrahim Khan, committed suicide and died; the event affected Aref deeply and he was sent to
Baghdad for treatment. In 1919–1920, Aref traveled to
Istanbul with a group of politicians including
Mirzadeh Eshgh, Reza Ali Divan-Beigi, and
Hassan Modarres. In 1919–1920 Aref returned to Tehran. After his return, he performed concerts in Tehran. The following year, at the invitation of his friend
Mohammad Taqi Pessian (head of the gendarmerie in
Khorasan), he went to
Mashhad and also held concerts in the city's National Garden. As before, Aref performed poems critical of the Qajar court in his concerts. The poet
Iraj Mirza—himself a Qajar prince—was offended by Aref's satirical allusions to the Qajar government, and composed a long work titled
Arefnameh, attacking and lampooning Aref and calling him "Aref-nama" ("pseudo-Aref").
Arefnameh became popular among Aref's opponents at the time. In 1921,
Sayyed Zia'eddin Tabatabaee was appointed prime minister, but his government fell after three months and he fled Iran. He was succeeded by
Qavam os-Saltaneh. Qavam's supporters strongly denounced Zia'eddin as a traitor. Aref, who supported Zia'eddin, wrote poems in his defense and attacked Qavam, including the tasnif "O Divine Hand" (). In 1921–1922, Qavam ordered the killing of
Mohammad Taqi Pessian; this led Aref to write several poems about him, including "A Thousand
Siyâvash Live for Your Vengeance" (), "Don’t Tell Me Not to Cry — Crying Is My Way" (), and "Between One’s Head and One’s Spouse, Whoever Gives Up Themself…" (). After a short period of frequent cabinet changes, in 1923–1924
Reza Khan Sardar Sepah was appointed prime minister. Ahmad Shah was then traveling in
Europe, and Reza Khan took advantage of the situation to move against the Qajar order and promote a
republic. Aref—who viewed the Qajar monarchy as a cause of Iran's misfortune and supported a republic—composed and performed tasnifs in support of Reza Khan. Among other performances, he held a crowded concert at "Teatr-e Baqerov" and performed tasnifs and ghazals including "Blood Is Like the Spring of the Water of Life" (), "A Charming Face, Dark Hair" (), "Did You Show Mercy, O Just God — Or Not?" (), "So Much Injustice Was Done to the People From the Seat of Justice" (), and "The Morning Breeze Will Carry the Flower’s Scent to the Nightingale" (). The republican project did not endure. In March–April 1924, an incident in which a deputy struck
Hassan Modarres led to unrest in Tehran and a march toward the parliament; after clashes, it was decided to drop the republican debate. Reza Khan, having failed to achieve his goal via republicanism, was crowned the first shah of the
Pahlavi dynasty in 1926. To consolidate control, Reza Shah curtailed political freedoms, censored newspapers, and restricted public gatherings. These restrictions also affected Aref: he was barred from performing concerts and composing political poems, and his poetry collection—recently published in
Berlin—was confiscated in Iran and its distribution prevented. Although Aref had supported Reza Khan's republican project and opposed the Qajar monarchy, Reza Shah reportedly did not have a good relationship with him. Haeri gives several reasons, including Aref's earlier support for Zia'eddin Tabatabaee, Aref's support for
William Morgan Shuster (seen by Reza Shah as "support for a foreigner"), and Reza Shah's broader effort to sideline or eliminate popular figures viewed as potential threats. As a result, Aref went to
Hamadan.
Life in Hamadan Some have described Aref's move to
Hamadan in 1927–1928 as an "exile". For example,
Abdolhossein Sepanta, who visited Aref in Hamadan on two separate trips, reported both times that Aref was "in exile". Moshfeq Hamadani also used the term "exile" in
Khatirat-e nim-qarn rooznameh-negari when describing Aref's situation. However, Saeed Pourazimi argues that the move was not imposed by the government and was Aref's own choice. Mahmoud Badi', son of Badi' al-Hokama, likewise wrote that "no one exiled Aref; rather, Aref exiled himself", adding that Aref went to Hamadan in 1927–1928 at his father's request. Aref had previously visited Hamadan in 1922–1923 during a trip to
Kurdistan. On that trip he saw Morad Beyg Valley, became fascinated by it, and wrote about it for Badi' al-Hokama. His later journey to Hamadan was not direct. After contracting
malaria in 1922–1923 and recovering under Badi' al-Hokama's medical care, Aref was again unwell when he traveled from Tehran to
Borujerd in mid-June 1926; in April 1927 he accepted Badi' al-Hokama's invitation to travel to Hamadan. In Hamadan, Aref lived in difficult conditions, having no capital and having lost his main source of income (concerts). Although one of his friends managed to secure a stipend for him from the government, it decreased over time, and Aref faced financial hardship late in life. Nevertheless, prominent figures visited him in Hamadan, including Tagore, Dinshah Irani,
Ahmad Kasravi,
Mohammad Ali Jamalzadeh, Vahid Dastgerdi, and
Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri.
Final years Aref spent the remainder of his life in a rented house in a small fort in Morad Beyg Valley with a servant named Jiran Khanom, and his two dogs; later he lived in a house on Beyn-ol-Nahrayn Street in Hamadan. Aref described his solitary days as follows: On 25 April 1926, one of Aref's dogs was poisoned. A rumor then spread that he had secretly buried the dog's body at the shrine of Emamzadeh Dehkord (near Borujerd), which provoked outrage and an attempt on his life. One of Aref's friends sheltered him in a fort for two months, and Aref was eventually forced—weak and ill—to flee from Borujerd to
Arak. In 1929–1930, Aref opened correspondence with the
Indian Zoroastrians (Parsis). They sent an emissary to Hamadan to invite him to India to live in comfort, and they also undertook to cover his living expenses, but Aref declined the invitation. Aref also stated that he suffered illness due to heavy alcohol consumption. During this period he reportedly refused help from anyone, and even gave his paternal inheritance to his brothers. In 1931–1932, when
Qamar-ol-Moluk Vaziri held a concert in Hamadan, Neyr-od-Dowleh presented gifts to her (including a silver vase). Qamar called Aref on stage and gave him the gifts, but Aref donated them to needy students in Hamadan and donated the vase to the
Avicenna Mausoleum.
Illness and death Aref, who had heart disease, remained in Hamadan until the end of his life. He also suffered from
bronchitis due to opium use, and in his final years developed
lung cancer that spread to his throat. The disease progressed to the point that he could no longer sing. Aref died around 12:30 a.m. on 20 January 1934 (or possibly in the early hours of Sunday, 21 January 1934). He was buried at the
Avicenna Mausoleum. Because Aref kept dogs and drank alcohol, there were stories that a dog's body was buried with him; what is documented is that initially no one was willing to perform the
funeral prayer for him, but eventually Seyyed Nasrollah Bani-Sadr did so. His burial at the Avicenna Mausoleum also faced opposition and was initially intended to be temporary. Later, in 1951–1952, while
Hooshang Seyhoun was overseeing reconstruction plans for the mausoleum, Aref's remains were found and his grave was moved to the area opposite the entrance to Avicenna's tomb. == Notes ==