Saadi was born in Shiraz, Iran around 1200 A.D. He was
one of the greatest literary figures of Iran. He was also a Sufi.
It is well-known that Sufis also retract their spiritual
leadership to the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali (a.s.).
He was credited with the masterpieces; Bostan-e-Saadi, and Golestan-e-Saadi.
The original works were in Persian. It was translated in different
languages. In English, one of the
translations were done by Richard Francis Burton (1821-1892)
Saadi travelled to many countries. He had expressed his life
time experience in the above-mentioned books.
The word Bostan in
Persian means “The Orchard”. In Bostan, which is entirely in verse and
consisting of stories aptly illustrating the Muslim culture; justice, modesty,
contentment etc. The book has 10 chapters discussing benevolence, love,
humility, resignation, contentment, education, gratitude, repentance, and
prayer
The word Golestan
means “The Rose Garden”. The Golestan is mainly in prose containing stories and
personal anecdotes. It has 8 chapters dealing in manners of kings, morals of dervishes,
excellence of contents, advantages of silence, love and youth, weakness and old
age, effects of education, and rules for conduct in life.
In chapter 8, there
are many maxims and admonitions.
Shaikh Saadi had
detailed some 82 Maxims in the chapter “Rules for conduct in life” in
“Golestan”; some of which are reproduced below:
Knowledge is for the cherishing
religion, not for amassing wealth.
A learned man, who is not
abstinent, resembles a torchbearer who guides others but does not guide
himself.
Everyone thinks himself as
perfect in intellect and his child in beauty.
Whatever takes place quickly is
not permanent.
Affairs succeed by patience and
a hasty man fails.
Whoever associates with bad
people will see no good.
Not everyone who is handsome in
form possesses a good character.
Transgression by whosoever
committed is blamable but more so in learned men.
An envious man is avaricious with
the wealth of God and hates the guiltless as foe.
Mendacity (Lying) resembles a
violent blow, the scar of which remains, though the wound may be healed.
Two men died, bearing away their
grief. One had possessed and did not enjoy it; the other possessed knowledge and did not practice
it.
Bani Adam: Shaikh
Saadi had used this proverb in his poetry. He preached for the breaking down
the barriers in mankind. In one of such couplet, he says:
Humans (children of Adam) are inherent
parts (or limbs) of one body, and are from the same valuable essence in their
creation. When the conditions of the time hurts one of these parts, other parts will be disturbed.
If you are indifferent about the misery of others, it may not be appropriate to call you a human being.
Shaikh Saadi in the
West: Andre du Ryer was the first European to present Saadi to the West, by
means of a partial French translation of Golestan in 1634 A.D. Adam Olearius
followed soon with the complete translation of The Bostan and The Golestan into
German in 1654. Alexander Pushkin, one of Russia’s celebrated poets, quotes
Saadi in his work “as Saadi sang in his earlier, ‘some are far distant, some
are dead.”
Saadi died in 1291 or 1292 and was buried in Shiraz, Iran.
Sources
used:
WIKIPEDIA,
Persian Language and Literature