Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Muslim / Sufi

13th Century

Iran/Per
(Middle East)

Saadi

Timeline (1207? - 1291)

Poems by Saadi
Books - Links

Saadi, Saadi poetry, Muslim / Sufi, Muslim / Sufi poetry, poetry, poetry, poetry

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Sheikh Muslihu'd-Din, known as Sadi, was descended from Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed. His father apparently died when he was a boy.

Although Sadi was born and died in Shiraz, Persia (Iran), during his life he travelled extensively. He is said to have travelled for thirty years throughout the Islamic world. Iran has filled the centuries with some of the world's finest poets, but Iranians consider Sadi to be one of the greatest.

Historians often divide his life into three parts. His first twenty-five years he spent studying in various countries, going to university at Baghdad. During the next thirty years he travelled widely, to India in the east and as far west as Syria. He made his pilgrimage to Mecca fourteen times. Finally, Sadi returned to Shiraz where he devoted himself to writing and to teaching.

Sadi was a disciple of the Sufi master Sheikh Shahabud-Din Sahrawardi.

Sadi's two best known works are the Bustan (the Garden), composed entirely in verse, and the Gulistan (the Rose Garden), in both prose and verse. He was particularly known for the wry wit he injected into his poems.

Sadi is probably the first Persian poet to have been translated into European languages. A German version of the Gulistan appeared in 1654.

Sadi's tomb can be seen in the town of Shiraz. Lines from Sadi's poems are still commonly used in conversations by Iranians today.

Poems by Saadi

	How could I ever thank my Friend?
	All Adam's race are members of one frame;
	Have no doubts because of trouble nor be thou discomfited;
	If one His praise of me would learn,
	The man of God with half his loaf content,
	The world, my brother! will abide with none,
	To the wall of the faithful what sorrow, when pillared securely on thee?

Recommended Books

The Gulistan of Sadi: The Rose Garden, Translated by Edward B. Eastwick

Amazon.com

The Mystics of Islam, by Reynold A. Nicholson

Amazon.com

Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from the Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut

Amazon.com

Related Links:

	Shaykh Muslih al-Din Sa'di shirazi http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/Poets/Sadi.html Biography, chronology, some poetry.
	Internet Classics Archive \| The Gulistan of Sadi http://classics.mit.edu/Sadi/gulistan.html The complete Gulistan of Sadi on-line.
	Sa'di http://www.humanistictexts.org/sa'di.htm A brief introduction and several poems and prose excerpts.
	Sadi: The Gulistan or Rose Garden http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/sadi.html The complete Gulistan of Sadi on-line.
	The Mausoleum of Sadi http://www.shirazcity.org/shiraz/Shiraz%20Information/Sightseeing/Sa'di%20e.htm Description and several photos of the revered mausoleum of Sadi.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Saadi

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Sacred Poetry from Around the World