Chapter Two: On Beneficence

If you are wise, look toward the meaning, for meaning outlasts the outer form. Whoever lacks knowledge, generosity, and virtue has no real substance inside his outer shape. The one who rests easy beneath the earth is the one who let others rest with easy hearts. Tend to your own soul while you live, for your kin, out of their own greed, will not bother with the dead. Give away your gold and goods now, while they are yours; after you, they slip beyond your command. If you don't want a scattered, anxious heart, don't turn the scattered and needy from your mind. Scatter your hoarded treasure freely today, for tomorrow its key won't be in your hand. Carry your own provisions with you, for no tender care will come from child or wife. Only that person wins fortune's prize from this world who carries a share of it into the next. When it comes to caring, no one in the whole world will scratch my back the way my own fingertip does. Don't lay out everything you own on your open palm, or tomorrow you'll be biting the back of your hand in regret. Work to cover the poor man's shame, so that God may draw a veil over yours. Don't send the stranger empty-handed from your door, lest you yourself become a stranger begging at other doors. The great man does good to the one in need, fearing that one day he may need another's help himself. Look at the state of the broken-hearted, for someday you too may be broken-hearted. Bring joy to those who are stranded and helpless; remember your own days of helplessness. Aren't you a beggar at other people's doors? In gratitude, don't drive the beggar from yours.

Give shelter to the fatherless child; brush the dust from him and pull out his thorn. You don't know what left him so helpless. Was a tree ever fresh once torn from its roots? When you see an orphan with his head bowed low, don't kiss your own child in front of him. If the orphan cries, who will comfort him? And if he grows angry, who will carry his burden? Take care that he never weeps, for the mighty throne of heaven trembles when an orphan cries. With mercy wipe the tears from his eyes; with tenderness brush the dust from his face. If the shade that protected him is gone, then shelter him under your own. I too once wore a crown upon my head: back when my head rested against my father's side. If a fly so much as landed on me, the hearts of many would be troubled. Now, if enemies take me captive, not one of my friends would come to help. I know the pain of children well, for in my own childhood I lost my father. Someone once pulled a thorn from an orphan's foot, and in a dream saw the great sage of Khojand. He was strolling through gardens, saying: look what flowers that single thorn has grown for me. As long as you can, never withhold mercy, for if you show mercy, mercy will be shown to you. When you do good, don't become full of yourself, thinking, I am the master and the rest are beneath me. If fate's sword has struck someone down, is fate's blade not still drawn and waiting? When you see a thousand people praying for your good fortune, give thanks to God for the blessing. For many people look to you for help, while you look to no one's hand. I called generosity the way of great leaders; I misspoke: it is the character of prophets.

I heard that for a whole week no traveler on the road came to Abraham's guesthouse. Being generous by nature, he would not eat early, in case some poor soul might arrive from the road. He went out and looked in every direction, scanning the edges of the valley until he saw. Alone in the desert stood a man, bent like a willow, his head and hair gone white with the dust of age. To comfort him he offered a warm welcome, and in the way of the noble called him to his table. He said: light of my eyes, do me the kindness of sharing my bread and salt. The old man said yes, sprang up, and stepped along, for he knew Abraham's character, peace be upon him. The stewards of Abraham's guesthouse seated the humble old man with honor. By his command they set out the meal, and everyone took their place around it. When the gathering began with 'In the name of God', no such words were heard from the old man. Abraham said to him: old man of many years, I do not see in you the sincerity and fervor of the old. Is it not right that when you take your daily food you should speak the name of the One who provides it? The old man replied: I follow no practice that I have not learned from the elders who worship fire. The prophet of good omen understood that the old man was a fire worshiper, of a ruined faith. Seeing him a stranger, he drove him off in scorn, since the impure were an offense before the pure. A messenger came from the glorious Creator, awesome and reproaching: Abraham, I have given him life and daily bread for a hundred years, yet you turned away from him in a single moment. If he bows down before fire, why do you withdraw your hand of generosity?

Do not tie strings to the gift of your kindness, for that turns it into hypocrisy and a con, into trickery and calculation. The learned scholar loses out when he sells his knowledge and refinement just to earn his bread. Where would reason or religious law ever rule that a wise person should trade faith for worldly gain? And yet, go ahead and buy: a person of sense gladly picks up bargains from those who sell too cheap.

A smooth talker came to a man of heart and said: I'm stuck fast, sunk deep in the mud. A miserable wretch is owed ten silver coins by me, but even a fraction of it weighs on my heart like a mountain. All night my mind is thrown into turmoil by him, all day he trails me like a shadow. With his mind-wrecking words he has scraped my heart raw, like a wound behind the door of my chest. It seems that from the day his mother bore him God gave him nothing but these ten coins to demand. He knows not a single letter from the book of faith, has read nothing but the chapter of the unbending. Never once has the sun risen over the hills without that shameless rogue knocking at my door. I keep wondering which generous soul will free me from that hard-hearted man with a little silver. The old man of blessed nature heard these words and slipped two whole coins into the fellow's sleeve. Gold fell into the storyteller's hands, and he strode off from there beaming like fresh gold. Someone said: Sheikh, don't you know who that was? If he drops dead, no one need shed a tear. A beggar who could saddle a wild lion, who could out-hustle Abu Zaid himself and take his horse and queen. The devout man grew angry: Be quiet. You are no man of words, so keep your ears open instead. If what I believed of him was true, then I have guarded his honor before the people. And if he played the shameless hypocrite, don't imagine he made a fool of me. For I kept my own honor safe from the hands of such a cunning liar. Give silver and gold to good and bad alike: to the good it earns you virtue, from the bad it wards off harm. Blessed is the one who, in the company of the wise, learns the manners of those with heart. If you have reason, judgment, foresight and sense, you will listen to Saadi's counsel with respect. For his talk is mostly of this way of living, not of eyes and curls, earlobes and beauty-spots.

A man died leaving a hundred thousand gold coins; his heir was a wise and openhearted son. He didn't clutch the gold like the misers do; like free and generous souls, he let it go. His door was never empty of the poor; every traveler found a welcome in his guesthouse. He brought joy to kin and stranger alike, not hoarding silver and gold as his father had. A critic said to him: 'You spendthrift! Don't scatter everything you have all at once.' 'It takes a year to gather a harvest; burning it in a moment is no act of a man.' 'Since you have no patience when you're broke, save something wisely while times are good.' 'How well the village mistress told her daughter: in days of plenty, set aside for the hard times.' 'Always keep your waterskin and jug ready, for the stream does not run through the village forever.' 'With worldly means you can earn the next world, and with gold you can turn back the lion's claws.' 'Don't shower all your gold on friends at once, and keep an eye out for an enemy's blow.' 'If you're penniless, don't go to a friend; but if you have silver, come and bring it along.' 'Even if you press your face to his feet, he won't answer you if your hands are empty.' 'The man with gold can gouge out the demon's eye, and trap even the jinn Sakhr by cunning.' 'Empty handed, don't chase after the beautiful, for without silver people are worth nothing.' 'With empty hands no hope comes true; with gold you can blind even the white demon.' 'But if you give away everything you get, your palm will be empty when you need it most.' 'The beggars will never grow strong by your efforts; I fear you'll only wear yourself thin.' When the withholder of good had finished his speech, the generous man's blood stirred with indignation. That fault finder had left him distraught; he flared up and said, 'You babbler,' 'The wealth that surrounds me now, my father called the inheritance of my grandfather.' 'Didn't they guard it with stinginess? Didn't they die in longing and leave it all behind?' 'My father's fortune didn't reach my hands so that after me it should fall to my son's.' 'It's better that people enjoy it today than that they plunder it tomorrow when I'm gone.' 'Eat, wear, give, and bring others comfort. Why keep hoarding it for other people?' 'The wise carry their reward from this world with them; the base and stingy stay behind in regret.' 'Give your gold and blessings now, while they are yours, for after you they slip beyond your command.' 'With this world you can buy the next. Buy it, my dear, or you'll carry only regret.'

A time came when a woman went to her husband, saying: don't buy our bread from the neighborhood grocer anymore. Go to the market of those who sell real wheat, for that man sells barley dressed up to look like wheat. He has no customers; for a whole week no one has seen his face, only the swarm of flies around his stall. To comfort her, the humble, needy man said: my dear, be reasonable, brighten up. That poor man set up his shop here trusting in us; it isn't manly to pull our custom away from him. Follow the way of the good and free-hearted; while you stand upright, lend a hand to the one who has fallen. Be generous, for those who are truly worthy are the ones who buy from the failing shop. If you want the truth, the truly noble man is a saint; generosity was the calling of Ali, the king of noble men.

I heard of an old man on the road to Mecca who at every step would stop and pray two cycles. So fervent was he on the path to God that he never even paused to pull a thorn from his foot. But in the end, his restless, obsessive heart began to admire its own devotion. Deceived by Satan, he fell into a pit, thinking, 'No one could walk this road better than I.' Had God's mercy not reached out to him, his pride would have led him clean off the path. A voice from the unseen called out to him: 'You fortunate soul of blessed nature, do not imagine that any worship you have offered is some fine gift you brought to this divine court. To ease one heart with a single act of kindness is worth more than a thousand prayers at every stop.'

The wife spoke to the king's officer: Get up, lucky man, and knock on the door of our daily bread. Go and get a share from the royal table, for your little children are waiting, watching the road. He said: The kitchen is cold today, for the king has vowed to fast tonight. In despair the wife dropped her head, her heart torn by hunger, and said to herself: What did the king want from this fast of his, when his breaking of it would have been a feast day for our children? A man who eats but does good with his hands is better than one who fasts forever yet worships the world. Fasting truly counts for the one who gives the helpless a loaf at noon. Otherwise, why bother making the effort, to deny yourself only to eat it yourself?

There was a man of great generosity but little wealth; his means fell short of his kindness. May the lowly never come to fortune, and may the noble never fall into poverty. The one whose ambition reaches high rarely finds his wishes caught in his grasp. Like a stream rushing down the mountainside, that never settles on the heights. You gave beyond what your resources allowed, so of course you ended up in want. A poor man wrote him a brief note: You of good ends and fine nature, help me with a certain sum of coins, for I have been in prison for some time now. The amount meant nothing in his eyes, yet he did not have a single penny in hand. So he sent word to the creditors who held the man: You good and free-hearted people, hold back your hands from him for a while; and if he runs off, the debt is on me. Then he told the prisoner: Get up, and flee this city as fast as you can. Like a sparrow that sees the cage door open, he could not rest a single breath. He bolted like the morning wind, so fast the wind itself could not catch his dust. At once they seized the generous man: Produce this silver, or the man himself. In helplessness he took the road to prison, for a bird once flown from the cage cannot be caught. I heard he stayed locked up a long while, yet wrote no complaint and cried out to no one. He found no rest by day and no sleep by night; a devout man passed by and said: I do not think you are one to devour others' wealth; what happened to land you in prison? He answered: You blessed companion, I never took anyone's money by trickery. I saw a helpless man wounded by his chains, and saw no way to free him but by binding myself. It did not sit right with my conscience: I at ease while another lay shackled. In the end he died, and carried away a good name; how fine a life whose name did not die. A body with a living heart, asleep beneath the soil, is better than a world of the living who are dead at heart. A living heart never perishes; if the body of one with a living heart dies, what does it matter?

A man found a thirsty dog in the desert, so far gone there was barely any life left in it. That good-natured man made his hat into a bucket and tied his turban to it like a rope. He rolled up his sleeves and bent to the task, and gave the helpless dog a drink of water. The Prophet told what became of that man: God forgave all his sins. So if you have been cruel, stop and think: choose loyalty instead, and make kindness your habit. No one ever lost by being good, even to a dog; how could kindness be wasted on a good person? Do all the good you possibly can: the keeper of the world shuts the door of goodness on no one. Giving away heaps of gold from a hoarded treasure is worth less than a single coin earned by your own labor. Each person carries a load that matches their strength; a locust's leg is a heavy weight for an ant.

Be gentle with people, you lucky one, so that tomorrow God will not be hard on you. If someone falls, don't leave them trapped, for the fallen deserve a helping hand. Don't order harm done to a servant, for one day he too may hold command. While your power and rank still hold, don't force your will on the weakness of the poor. For it may happen that one gains rank and power, like a pawn that suddenly becomes a queen. Take this advice: far-sighted people never plant the seed of spite in any heart. The owner of the harvest wrongs himself when he acts arrogantly toward the gleaner. Doesn't he fear that wealth might pass to the beggar, and a burden of grief be laid on his own heart? Many a strong man has fallen hard, and many a fallen man has been raised up by luck. Do not break the hearts of those beneath you, for one day you yourself may be the one below.

A beggar, weak and worn, poured out his misery to a hard driving man of wealth. That black hearted man gave him neither a coin nor the smallest scrap; instead he raised his voice and drove the poor man off like a scarecrow scattering birds. The beggar's heart turned to blood at such cruelty; he lifted his head from grief and said, How strange. Why is a rich man so sour of face? Does he not fear the bitterness of one day having to beg? The shortsighted man ordered his servant to drive the beggar away with contempt and harsh abuse. Because he failed to thank his Lord, I heard, fortune turned its back on him. His greatness slid toward ruin; the pen of fate wrote his fortune in black ink. Misfortune stripped him bare and sat him down empty handed, leaving him neither his goods nor a beast to carry them. Fate poured the dust of poverty over his head; like a conjurer's trick, both purse and hand were left clean and empty. His whole condition was turned upside down, and some time passed over this affair. His former servant, meanwhile, came into the hands of a generous master, rich in heart, open of hand, bright in nature. At the sight of a poor and troubled soul, that master rejoiced as a poor man rejoices at wealth. One night a man came to his door begging for a morsel, his steps unsteady from hardship. The discerning master ordered his servant to satisfy the wretched man's need. When the servant brought him a portion from the table, the beggar, beside himself, let out a cry. The servant returned to his master, broken hearted, his tears laying bare a hidden story. The kind natured master asked, Whose cruelty has brought these tears to your face? He said, My whole being was shaken to its depths at the state of this old man of shattered fortune. For I was once his slave, when he was lord of estates, of property and silver. Now that his hand has fallen from glory and comfort, he stretches it out begging at people's doors. The master smiled and said, My son, this is no injustice; no one is wronged by the turning of the wheel of time. Was he not that hard driving merchant who once lifted his head to the sky in arrogance? I am the very one he drove from his door that day; and now time has cast him down into my former place. Then heaven looked kindly on me again and washed the dust of sorrow from my face. If God in His wisdom closes one door, He opens another through His grace and generosity. How many a penniless wretch has been filled to satisfaction; how many a rich man's affairs have been turned upside down.

Listen to the ways of good men, if you want to be fortunate and walk the honorable path. Shibli once carried a sack of wheat on his back from a grain seller's shop to his village. He looked and saw an ant in that grain, running about, lost, in every corner. Out of pity for it he could not sleep that night; he carried the ant back to its home and said: It would be cruel to drive this poor wounded ant away from its own dwelling. Comfort the hearts of the scattered and displaced, so that fate may grant you peace and calm. How beautifully Ferdowsi, of pure birth, said, may mercy rain upon his pure grave: Do not torment an ant that drags a grain, for it has a life, and life is sweet and dear. Black of heart and hard as stone is the one who would break even an ant's small heart. Do not raise your fist against the weak, for one day you may fall at their feet like an ant. Gladden the hearts of the helpless; remember your own days of helplessness. The candle had no pity on the moth; see how it burned before the whole gathering. Granted, there are many weaker than you, but in the end there is also someone stronger than you.

Be generous, my son. A human being is won over by kindness, while a wild animal is caught by a snare. Bind your enemy's neck with acts of kindness, for this is a rope no sword can cut. When an enemy meets with grace, kindness, and generosity, no more malice will rise up in him. Do no wrong, or you will suffer wrong even from a good friend; no good harvest grows from the seed of evil. If you are harsh and difficult with a friend, he will no longer want to lay eyes on you. But if a man is kind even to his enemies, it will not be long before they become his friends.

On the road a young man came toward me, running hard, chasing after a sheep. I said to him: it is this rope and tether that keeps the sheep coming along behind you. He quickly took off its collar and chain, and the sheep began to run left and right. Yet it kept running ahead of the man, though it had eaten barley and young grass from his hand. When it came back, satisfied and content, it saw me and said: master of good judgment, It is not this rope that keeps it with me; kindness is the lasso around its neck. The raging elephant, because of the gentleness it has known, will not charge at its keeper. Show kindness even to the wicked, good man, for a dog stands guard once it has eaten your bread. The cheetah's teeth grow blunt against the man who lets it lick a bit of cheese for two days.

A man saw a fox with no legs to run on, and stood amazed at God's kindness and craft. He wondered: how does it get through life, and how does it feed itself without hands or feet? While the wandering, pale dervish was lost in this thought, a lion arrived with a jackal in its claws. The lion ate the luckless jackal, and what was left, the fox ate its fill from. The next day the same thing happened again: the Provider sent the fox its daily food. This certainty opened the man's eyes; he went off and put all his trust in the Creator. 'From now on I'll sit in a corner like an ant, for even elephants don't win their bread by force.' For a while he tucked his chin to his chest, sure the Giver would send his food from the unseen. But no stranger cared for him, nor any friend; like a harp, he shrank to sinew, bone, and skin. When patience left him from weakness and his mind grew faint, a voice came to his ear from the wall of the prayer niche: 'Go, be a ravening lion, you fraud; don't throw yourself down like a crippled fox.' 'Strive so that, like the lion, you leave food behind; why be a fox living on another's leftovers?' 'Like the lion, a man with a strong neck: if he falls into begging like the fox, a dog is better than he.' 'Earn it with your own hands and share it with others; don't wait, ears pricked, for others' scraps.' 'Eat, as long as you can, by the strength of your own arm, for your effort will weigh in your own scales.' 'Like real men, bear the toil and bring others ease; only the spineless live off other people's labor.' 'Young man, take the hand of the old and poor; don't collapse and cry, take my hand instead.' God shows mercy to the servant through whose existence people find comfort. The head that holds a brain practices generosity; the low and small-spirited are all shell and no substance. Whoever brings good to God's creatures will find good in both this world and the next.

I heard there was a man of clean and noble land, learned and devout, in the far reaches of Anatolia. So a few of us, travelers used to crossing the wilds, set out to meet him. He kissed each of us on the eyes and head, took our hands, seated us with dignity and honor, then sat down. I saw his gold, his crops, his servants, his fine clothes, yet he was as barren of generosity as a tree with no fruit. The man was warm in his manners and his talk, but strangely cold when it came to the cooking pot. All night he found no rest or sleep, busy with prayers and praises to God, while we lay awake from hunger. At dawn he tightened his belt, opened the door, and began again with the same kindness and polite questions. One of our traveling companions in that quarter was a sweet and good-humored man. He said to me: 'Change one letter and give me bread instead of a kiss, for a poor man needs food more than affection.' 'Don't fuss over my shoes in your polite service; just give me bread, and throw the shoes at my head if you like.' 'It is by selfless giving that true men have pulled ahead, not by staying up all night with a dead heart.' 'The same thing I've seen in a Tartar night watchman: a dead heart and eyes that stay open till morning.' 'True honor is generosity and feeding others; empty speeches are just a hollow drum.' 'On the day of resurrection you'll see in paradise the one who sought real substance, not the one who only claimed paradise.' 'A claim is proven only by real substance; words without deeds are a flimsy thing to lean on.'

I heard that in Hatim's day, among his horses, there was one swift as smoke. Quick as the morning breeze, its neigh loud as thunder; it would outrun even lightning. At full gallop it scattered pebbles over mountain and plain, as though a spring rain cloud had just passed by. It moved like a flood, crossing the desert, so fast the wind was left behind like dust. People described Hatim's virtues across every land, and some spoke of them to the king of Rome. They said no man rivals him in generosity, and no horse matches his in speed and battle. A desert runner smooth as a ship on water; not even an eagle could fly above its pace. The king said to his wise minister: A claim without proof brings only shame. I will ask Hatim for that Arabian horse; if he grants it and gives freely, I will know he truly has a king's grandeur; but if he refuses, his fame is an empty drum. He sent a skilled envoy off to the land of Tayy, with ten men accompanying him. The land was dead, the clouds weeping over it, and the breeze breathing life into it once more. The envoy arrived at Hatim's dwelling and rested there, like a thirsty man reaching a flowing river. Hatim laid out a feast and slaughtered a horse, gave them thanks by the armful and gold by the fistful. They stayed the night, and the next day the envoy explained what he had come to ask. Hatim, distraught as a drunk man, kept biting his own hand in regret. He said: You worthy and honored priest, why didn't you tell me your message sooner? That wind swift horse, quick as a champion's steed, I roasted last night for your sake. For I knew that, with the terror of rain and flood, no one could reach the pasture where my herd was grazing. I had no other way and no other road; there was nothing else at my door but that horse. It was against my code of honor to let a guest go to sleep with a heart pained by hunger. My name must stay renowned across the land; let the famous mount be gone, no matter. He gave the men money, robes of honor, and horses; noble character is natural, not a business. News of the young man of Tayy reached Rome, and the king praised his nature a thousand times over. Don't be content with just this tale of Hatim; listen to an even finer story than this.

I don't recall who told me this tale, that there was once a ruler in Yemen. Among the famous, he carried off the prize of fortune, for in generous giving no one matched him. You could call him a cloud of kindness, for his hand scattered coins the way clouds scatter rain. No one could mention Hatim's name near him without a fit of jealous rage seizing his head. He would rage: how long these speeches praising that windbag, who owns no kingdom, no command, no treasure? I heard he threw a royal feast; like a harp at that banquet, he set a whole crowd humming with delight. Someone opened the subject of Hatim, and another began to sing his praises. Envy set the man's heart on revenge; he hired someone to spill Hatim's blood. He said: as long as Hatim lives in my time, my name will never be spoken well of. The killer took the road to the tribe of Tai, tracking down the noble man to murder him. On the way a young man came to greet him, and from him rose a warm scent of friendliness. Handsome, wise, and sweet of speech, that night he took him home as his guest. He showed kindness, took pains for him, and apologized; with goodness he won the schemer's heart. At dawn he kissed his hands and feet and said: stay with us a few more days. The man replied: I cannot settle here, for a great matter lies ahead of me. The young man said: if you share it with me, I'll strive for it with my life, like a loyal friend. The man said: listen, generous soul, for I know how to keep a noble man's secret. In this land you must surely know Hatim, the one of blessed judgment and good conduct. The king of Yemen wants his head; I don't know what grudge has arisen between them. If you'll guide me to where he is, that is all I ask of your kindness, my friend. The young man laughed: I am Hatim. Here, cut my head from my body with your sword. It must not happen that when the dawn turns white you come to harm or fall into despair. When Hatim laid down his life so freely, a cry burst from deep within the young man. He fell to the ground, then sprang up again, kissing now the earth, now Hatim's hands and feet. He threw down his sword, set aside his quiver, and folded his hands like the helpless. He said: if I so much as strike you with a rose, I am no man among men, but a coward. He kissed his eyes and held him in his arms, then set off from there on the road to Yemen. The king read it at once in the space between the man's brows, that he had done no deed. He said: come, what news do you bring? Why haven't you tied his head to your saddle? Did the famous one perhaps attack you, and out of weakness you couldn't stand the fight? The nimble young man kissed the ground, praised the king, and bowed with respect. He said: I found Hatim the renowned, gifted, of fine bearing and beautiful face. I found him noble and wise, and in manliness far above myself. The weight of his kindness bent my back double; he killed me with the sword of his grace and generosity. He told all he had seen of Hatim's kindness, and the great king praised the house of Tai. He gave the messenger a thousand silver coins, for generosity is stamped on Hatim's very name. He deserves it well if people bear witness, for his true worth and his reputation walk together.

I heard that in the time of the Prophet, the tribe of Tayy would not accept the pledge of faith. The bearer of good news and warning sent an army, and they took a group of them captive. He ordered them killed by the sword of vengeance, for they were impure and of an impure faith. A woman said, 'I am the daughter of Hatim; make your plea for me to this famous ruler.' 'Show me kindness, honored one, for my father was a man of generous heart.' By the command of the wise Prophet, they loosed the chains from her hands and feet. But the sword was left over the rest of that people, to send a merciless flood of blood pouring down. Weeping, the woman said to the swordsman, 'Strike my neck too, along with all the others.' 'I see no honor in going free from my bonds alone while my companions stay caught in the trap.' She spoke this, crying over the fate of Tayy, and her voice reached the Prophet's ear. He pardoned that people and gave them gifts besides, for one of noble origin and pure essence never truly errs.

An old man came to Hatim's house and asked for ten dirhams' worth of sugar candy. As the storyteller relates it to me, Hatim sent him a whole crate of sugar. His wife said from the tent, 'What kind of plan is this? Ten dirhams were all the old man needed.' The famous man of Ta'i heard these words, laughed, and said, 'My dear companion, if he only asked for the size of his own need, then where would the generosity of Hatim's house be?' For no one as noble and open-handed as Hatim ever came again in all the turning of the world. Abu Bakr Sa'd, whose giving hand lays its bounty on the very mouth of every request, O shelter of your people, may your heart be glad! By your effort may the faith flourish and thrive! This blessed land holds its head high over Greece and Rome because of your justice. Like Hatim, if his desire had not been giving, no one in the world would ever have spoken of Ta'i's name. Praise for that famous man remains in the book; for you both praise and reward will remain. For Hatim sought fame and renown by his gifts, but your striving and effort are for God's sake. The poor and honest man is under no heavy burden; my counsel is no more than this single line: as much as you are able, do good. Good will endure from you, and words from Sa'di.

A man's donkey had sunk into the mud, and grief turned his heart to boiling blood. Wilderness, rain, cold, and flooding, with darkness draping its skirts over the whole horizon. All night, trapped in this misery until dawn, he swore, he cursed, he hurled insults. No enemy escaped his tongue, nor any friend, nor even the king to whom this land belonged. As fate would have it, the lord of that vast plain happened to pass by him in that wretched state. He heard these outrageous words, too much to bear in silence, yet with no way to answer back. The king, ashamed, looked at his men and wondered: why is this man's fury aimed at me? One of them said, 'My king, strike him with your sword; he has spared no one, neither daughter nor wife.' The noble king considered the matter: he saw himself in a bind, and the donkey stuck in the mire. He took pity on the poor man's plight and swallowed his anger at those bitter words. He gave him gold, a horse, and a fur-lined coat. How fine is kindness at the moment of revenge. Someone said to the man, 'You old fool without sense, how strangely you escaped death.' The king said, 'Be quiet.' 'If I moaned out of my own pain, he bestowed gifts in keeping with his own nature.' Repaying evil with evil is easy; if you are truly a man, do good to the one who wronged you.

I heard that a haughty man, drunk with pride, shut his door in a beggar's face. The beggar sank into a corner and sat down, his heart burning, sighing from a chest gone cold with grief. A blind man heard him and asked what was the cause of his bitterness and anger. He told his story and wept there in the dust of the alley, over the insult that man had thrown in his face. The blind man said, 'Friend, let go of your hurt; tonight come and break your fast with me.' With kindness and gentle coaxing he drew him along, brought him home and laid out a table. The bright-hearted dervish found peace and said, 'May God give you light.' That night a few tears fell from his eyes, and at dawn he opened them and saw the world. The story swept through the city and stirred a commotion: that the blind man had gained his sight last night. The hard-hearted lord heard the news, the very one who had sent the dervish away broken-hearted. He said, 'Tell me your tale, lucky man. How did this hard thing come so easy to you? Who lit for you this world-illuminating lamp?' The dervish replied, 'You cruel man of ruined days, you were shortsighted and weak in judgment, busying yourself with an owl instead of the royal phoenix. The one who opened this door for me was the very door you slammed shut in his face.' If you kiss the ground before true men, be sure that light will come to you through their manhood. Those whose hearts' eyes are closed are simply unaware of this healing balm. When the man of turned fortune heard the reproach, he bit his fingertip in astonishment, saying, 'My royal falcon has fallen into your trap; the fortune that was mine went to your name.' When a man has a noble falcon in hand, yet sinks his teeth into greed like a mouse... Listen: if you seek the people of the heart, never be careless of serving them for a moment. Feed the sparrow, the partridge and the dove, so that one day a phoenix may fall into your net. When you send your arrow of need to every corner, there is hope that suddenly you will strike a prize. A pearl emerges from among so many shells; out of a hundred arrows, one hits the mark.

A man lost his son from the traveling caravan, and at nightfall he searched among them all. He asked at every tent and rushed in every direction, and in the darkness he finally found that light. When he came back to the people of the caravan, I heard him saying to the camel driver: You have no idea how I found my way to the one I loved! Everyone who came toward me, I said, 'This is him.' That is why people of heart go seeking after everyone: perhaps one day they will reach the one they long for. For the sake of one heart they carry countless burdens; for the sake of a single rose they swallow thorns.