The Fire in Baghdad

One night the smoke of people's grief set a fire ablaze; I heard that half of Baghdad burned to the ground. Amid that ash and smoke, one man gave thanks: 'At least my shop took no harm.' A man who had seen the world said to him, 'You shallow fool, was your own sorrow the only thing that mattered to you?' Would you be content to see a whole city burn, just because your own house stood at the edge and was spared? Only a heart of stone stays full and untroubled when it sees others tying stones to their empty bellies from hunger. How can the rich man swallow his food when he sees the poor man choking on his own blood? Don't call the man beside the sick bed healthy, for he writhes with grief as if he were the patient himself. The tender-hearted, when their friends reach shelter, cannot sleep, knowing others are left stranded behind. The hearts of true kings grow heavy with others' burdens when they see a donkey stuck in the mud under its load of thorns. If anyone truly lives in the house of happiness, one word from Saadi's counsel is enough for him. This much is enough for you, if you will only listen: plant thorns and you will never harvest jasmine.