Mosharref od-D¯ın ibn Mosleh od-D¯ın Sa‘d¯ı,
known simply as Saad¯ı, was born in Shiraz, Persia
(present-day Iran).He received traditional Islamic
education at the renowned Nezamiyeh College in
Baghdad. The unsettled conditions following the
Mongol invasion caused Saad¯ı to leave his native
land and wander for years through the lands of
Syria, Iraq, Egypt, India, and Central Asia. After 30
years of wandering, he returned to Shiraz as an old
man. His tomb in Shiraz is a revered shrine.
Saad¯ı was a great master of love poetry and
prose, rich with similes and metaphors: “She came
forth as morn succeeding a dark night, or as the waters
of life issuing from the gloom.” Another distinguishing
feature of his writing is its symbolism;
for example, when he uses love to represent a spiritual
quest for fulfillment or knowledge: “The thirst
of my heart cannot be slaked with a drop of water,
nor if I should drink rivers would it be lessened.”
In his works, Saad¯ı demonstrates a subtle understanding
of human emotions and a great practical
wisdom. Many of his quotations have become
aphorisms because of their humor and precise
phrasing, such as this one from an autobiographical
sketch in which an old man tells the tired author,
who has traveled hard and stopped his journey at
the foot of the mountain: “It is better to walk and
rest, than to run and be oppressed.”
Saad¯ı’s main works are the Bustan (The place of
sweet scents, 1257) and the Golestan (The rose garden,
1258). The Bustan, a book of moral anecdotes
in verse, is divided into several parts according to
various aspects of human thought and behavior, as
evidenced by the chapter titles: “On Justice,Wisdom,
and Common Sense”; “On Love, Infatuation,
and Insanity”; and “On Being Satisfied by the Little,”
to name a few.
The Golestan is a combination of prose and poetry.
It contains tales, personal anecdotes, humorous
reflections, and moral advice. These works
reveal Saad¯ı’s preference for the freedom of
dervishes, who choose their one way in life, over
the fate of those who depend on others for their
survival or happiness.
Saad¯ı’s subtle humor and wisdom garnered him
the title “The Genius of Shiraz,” for he is and continues
to be one of the greatest masters of love poetry
and philosophical aphorism.
English Versions of Works by Saad¯ı
The Bostan of Saadi: (The Orchard). Translated by
Barlas M. Aqil-Hossain. London: Octagon Press,
1998.
Morals Pointed and Tales Adorned: The Bustan of
Saadi. Translated by G. M.Wickens. Toronto: University
of Toronto Press, 1974.