In Praise of God

In the name of God, who gives life to the soul, the wise one who set speech upon the tongue. God, the generous one who lifts the fallen, kind, forgiving of faults, accepting of apologies. So honored that whoever turned away from his door found no honor at any other door. The heads of proud, high-necked kings bow to the ground of need before his gate. He does not seize the defiant in haste, nor drive off those who bring their excuses with cruelty. And if he grows angry at an ugly deed, once you return, he closes the matter and lets it go. If someone picks a fight with his father, the father will surely burn with anger. And if a relative is displeased with his kin, he drives him from his sight like a stranger. If a servant is not quick at his work, his master does not hold him dear. If you are not kind to your companions, your companion flees miles away from you. If a soldier abandons his service, the warlike king washes his hands of him. But God, the lord of high and low, never shut the door of sustenance on anyone for disobedience. Both worlds are but one drop from his sea of knowledge; he sees the sin and veils it in his patience. The surface of the earth is his table set for all; at this open feast, what matters friend or foe? If he moved swiftly against the cruel, who would find safety from the grip of his wrath? His essence is free of any rival or likeness; his kingdom needs no worship from spirits or humans. All things and all beings serve his command: humankind, birds, ants, and flies. He spreads the tablecloth of his grace so wide that even the Simorgh feeds on its share atop Mount Qaf. Gentle, generous, and provident, keeper of creation and knower of its secrets. To him alone belong majesty and self-sufficiency, for his kingdom is eternal and his essence is rich beyond need. On one head he sets the crown of fortune; another he casts down from the throne into the dust. One wears the cap of happiness; another wears the coarse cloak of misery. For Abraham he turns fire into a rose garden; a whole people he drowns in the waters of the Nile. If it is the first, it is the decree of his kindness; if the second, it is the seal of his command. He sees evil deeds behind the curtain, yet he himself draws a veil over them with his generosity. If in threat he raises the sword of judgment, even the angels fall silent, deaf and mute. And if he offers a single call of mercy, even Satan says: 'Let me take a share.' At the gate of his grace and greatness, the great ones lay their greatness aside. He is near in mercy to the helpless, responsive in his call to those who plead. His knowledge sees clearly into things not yet come to be; his kindness knows the secrets never spoken. By his power he holds heights and depths in place; he is lord of the ledger on the Day of Reckoning. No back is free of the need to obey him, and no one can lay a finger of objection on his word. Eternal, doer of good, lover of what is good, he draws the design in the womb with the pen of fate. From east to west he set the moon and sun in motion, and laid the world upon the water. The earth grew weary from its trembling, so he drove the nails of mountains into its skirt. He gives the sperm a form fair as a fairy; who else has painted a picture upon water? He sets rubies and turquoise inside the loins of stone, and red roses on turquoise-colored branches. From the cloud he drops a drop toward the sea; from the loins he casts a seed into the womb. From that drop he makes a shining pearl, and from this seed he shapes a form tall as a cypress. Not one speck of knowledge is hidden from him, for the seen and the unseen are one before him. He provides the sustenance of snake and ant, though they have no hands, no feet, no strength. At his command existence took shape from nothing; who but he can make being out of what is not? Then he returns it again into the hiding place of nothingness, and from there brings it to the field of resurrection. The world agrees upon his divinity, yet stands helpless before the truth of his essence. No human found what lies beyond his majesty; no eye reached the utmost of his beauty. The bird of imagination cannot fly to the height of his essence, nor can the hand of understanding reach the hem of his attributes. In this whirlpool a thousand ships have gone down, and not a single plank washed up on the shore. How many nights I sat lost in this searching, until dread seized my sleeve and cried: 'Rise!' The King's knowledge encompasses all that exists; your reasoning cannot encompass him. No perception reached the depth of his essence, no thought reached the bottom of his attributes. One can reach the eloquence of Sahban, but not the depth of the incomparable God. For the chosen ones have galloped their steeds on this road and fallen short of the run, crying: 'I cannot count your praise.' You cannot ride your horse in every place; in some places you must throw down your shield and surrender. And if a seeker becomes intimate with the secret, they close the door of return upon him. In this gathering the cup is given only to the one whom they have first dosed with the draught of unconsciousness. One falcon has its eyes stitched shut; another has open eyes but scorched wings. No one found the way to Qarun's treasure; and if he did, he found no way back out. I died in this surging sea of blood, from which no one has steered a ship to safety. If you long to cross this ground, first hamstring the horse of returning. Gaze into the mirror of your heart, and gradually you will gain its clarity. Perhaps a scent of love will make you drunk and set you seeking the covenant of eternity. On the feet of longing you will travel there, and from there fly upon the wings of love. Certainty tears through the veils of illusion, until nothing remains but the pavilion of his majesty. Then the steed of reason can no longer run; bewilderment seizes its reins and says: 'Stop.' In this sea only the guided one made it through; lost was the one who did not follow the caller. Those who have turned away from this road went far and wandered, bewildered. Whoever chose a path against the Prophet will never arrive at the destination. Do not imagine, Saadi, that the road of purity can be walked except in the footsteps of the Chosen One.

Noble in nature, beautiful in character, the prophet of all creation, the intercessor for the nations. Leader of the messengers, guide of the path, trustee of God, the one to whom Gabriel descends. Intercessor of humankind, master of resurrection and the raising of the dead, the guide of right, presider over the assembly of Judgment Day. A Moses whose Mount Sinai is the turning heavens; every light is a ray of his light. The obeyed intercessor, the generous Prophet: fair-faced, stately of build, and gracious of manner. An orphan who, before he could even read the Quran fully, washed away the libraries of whole nations. When his resolve drew the sword of awe, by a miracle he split the moon in two. When his fame spread through the mouths of the world, the palace of Khosrow trembled to its foundations. With his 'no god' he shattered the idol Lat to dust; by honoring the faith he drained away Uzza's glory. He did not merely reduce Lat and Uzza to dust; he rendered the Torah and the Gospel obsolete. One night he mounted and passed beyond the heavens; in majesty and rank he surpassed the angels. He rode so eagerly into the wilderness of nearness that Gabriel was left behind at the Lote Tree of the boundary. The lord of the Sacred House said to him, 'Carrier of revelation, ride higher.' 'Since you found me sincere in friendship, why do you turn your reins away from my company?' Gabriel said, 'There is no room left for me to go further; I have stopped, for my wings have no more strength.' 'If I fly higher, even by a hair's breadth, the blaze of the divine radiance will burn my wings.' No one whose leader is such a master stays trapped in the debt of sin. What worthy praise can I offer you? Peace be upon you, Prophet of all creation. May the blessing of the angels be upon your soul, and upon your companions and your followers. First, Abu Bakr, the elder disciple; then Umar, who broke the grip of the rebel demon. The wise Uthman, who kept vigil through the nights; and fourth, Ali, the king who rode Duldul. My God, by the truth of the children of Fatima, let me seal my life upon my faith. Whether you accept my plea or reject it, I cling to the hem and the hand of the Prophet's family. What loss would it be, O blessed leader, to your lofty rank at the court of the Living God, if a handful of beggars in your train were guests, uninvited, at the feast of your abode of peace? God Himself praised and glorified you; Gabriel kissed the ground before your worth. The high heavens are ashamed before your rank; you were already created when Adam was still water and clay. You came as the root of existence from the very first; everything else that came to be is your branch. I do not know which words to speak to you, for you are higher than anything I could say. The glory of 'but for you' is honor enough for you; the praise of Ta-Ha and Ya-Sin is enough. How can Saadi, imperfect as he is, describe you? Blessings be upon you, Prophet of peace.

I wandered far across the world, spending my days among all kinds of people. In every corner I found some pleasure; from every harvest I gathered an ear of grain. But I never saw people as humble and pure as the good folk of Shiraz, may mercy rest on this soil. My love for the noble people of this pure land drew my heart away from Syria and Anatolia. It felt wrong to leave that whole garden and return to my friends empty-handed. I said to myself: people bring sugar from Egypt to carry home as gifts for friends. Even if my hands held no such sugar, I have words sweeter than sugar. Not the sugar people eat in the ordinary way, but the kind that people of meaning carry on paper. When I raised this palace of good fortune, I built ten gates of moral instruction into it. The first chapter is on justice, wise counsel, judgment, caring for the people, and fear of God. For the second chapter I laid the foundation of kindness, that the prosperous may give thanks for God's grace. The third is on love, its intoxication and passion, not a love forced upon oneself. The fourth is humility, the fifth contentment with fate, the sixth speaks of the man who chooses to live on little. The seventh gate is on the world of self-discipline, the eighth on gratitude for well-being. The ninth chapter is repentance and the right road, the tenth is prayer, and it closes the book. On a blessed day and a fortunate year, on an auspicious date between two feasts, the year was six hundred and fifty five, when this famous treasure was filled with pearls. My lap is still full of gems, yet my head bows to my knees in shame. For in the sea that holds pearls there are also plain shells; in the orchard there are tall trees and short ones. So, wise reader of gentle nature, I have never known a truly wise person to go looking for faults. Whether a coat is silk or fine brocade, some coarse padding must lie inside it. If you do not find only fine brocade, do not fret; be generous, and cover over the padding. I do not boast of the capital of my learning; I have come with my hand held out, begging. I have heard that on the day of hope and fear, the Generous One forgives the wicked for the sake of the good. So if you find some flaw in my words, act as the Creator of the world acts toward his creatures. If out of a thousand lines one pleases you, be manly and hold back from reproach. No doubt my writing in Fars is like musk in Khotan, worth little where it is common. From afar I sounded fearsome like a booming drum; in absence my flaws stayed hidden. Sadi has brought roses to a rose garden, and cheekily brought pepper to India. Like a date, its skin coated in sweetness, but open it and there is a stone inside.

My nature never wanted this kind of thing; praising kings was never my aim. But I composed these verses under a certain name, so that people of insight might say one day: That Sa'di, who carried off the prize of eloquence, lived in the days of Abu Bakr ibn Sa'd. It is fitting that I take pride in his age, as a lord once took pride in the age of Nushirvan. No world guardian, no just and faith nurturing ruler, has come like Abu Bakr since Umar. Crown of the great, head of the proud, take pride, O world, in the age of his justice. If anyone flees from strife to seek refuge, no land but this offers him a resting place. Blessed is this ancient house, and blessed are those who come to it from every distant road. I have never seen such treasure, kingdom, and throne, all dedicated to the child, the poor, and the old. No aching grief ever came before him without his laying a healing balm upon its heart. He seeks the good and lives in hope; O God, grant the hope he holds. The corner of his crown touches the highest heaven, yet from humility his head still bends to earth. If a beggar shows humility, it is simply his nature; but humility from the mighty is beautiful. If someone lowly stumbles, what does it matter? The one who lifts the fallen is truly God's man. His good name does not stay hidden; the fame of his generosity travels the world. A wise man of blessed lineage like him, the world has never remembered, as long as the world has stood. In his days you will not find a single sufferer crying out against the tyranny of any strong hand. No one has seen such custom, order, and law; even Fereydun, for all his splendor, never saw this. His rank stands high before God for this reason: that the hand of the weak is made strong by his dignity. He has spread his shade over a whole world, so that an old woman need not fear even a Rustam. People always lament the cruelty of the times and the turning of the heavens. But in the days of your justice, O king, no one complains against the age. In your era I see people at peace; what will become of them after you, I do not know. It is also thanks to your happy fortune that Sa'di's chronicle falls within your days. So that as long as moon and sun exist in the sky, your name lives on forever in this book. If kings ever earned a good name, they learned their conduct from those who came before. But in the way you rule, you have outstripped all the kings before you. Alexander, with a wall of bronze and stone, narrowed the world's path against Gog. Your barrier against the Gog of unbelief is made of gold, not of bronze like Alexander's wall. Any eloquent tongue that fails to thank you for this peace and justice, may that tongue fall silent. What an ocean of mercy, what a mine of bounty you are, that all beings draw their support from your being. I see the king's virtues beyond all counting; they will not fit in the narrow field of a book. If Sa'di were to set them all down, he would need to dictate another whole volume. I fall short of thanking so much generosity; better that I open my hands in prayer. May the world go as you wish and fortune be your friend; may the Creator of the world protect you. May your high star light up the world, and the fading star of your enemy be burned away. May the turning of time bring you no sorrow, and may no dust of worry settle on your heart. For a single grief in the heart of kings can trouble the heart of an entire world. May your heart and your country stay whole and flourishing; may all division be far from your realm. May your body stay sound like faith itself, and the enemy's heart be feeble like his plotting. May your inner self be glad through God's support; may your heart, faith, and land all prosper. May the Creator of the world have mercy on you; anything else I could say is just wind and fable. Let this alone be enough from the glorious God: that your success in doing good keeps growing. Sa'd ibn Zangi did not leave the world in grief, for he left a famous heir like you. No wonder such a branch grew from that pure root, whose soul is at the summit though his body lies in earth. O God, upon that renowned resting place, by your grace, pour down the rain of mercy. If any memory of Sa'd ibn Zangi remains, may fortune stand beside the good luck of Abu Bakr.

Atabak Muhammad, the fortunate king, master of the crown and lord of the throne. A young man blessed with luck and a bright mind, young in his fortune yet old in wisdom. Great in knowledge, lofty in ambition, brave of arm and clever of heart. How fortunate the mother of the age, who raised such a son at her side. With his generous hand he outshines the sea; in his high station he rises above the stars. How the eye of fortune stays fixed on your face, chief of kings, head held high. The oyster you see brimming with pearls holds nothing worth as much as one single pearl. You are that hidden, matchless pearl, the very ornament of the royal house. Lord, keep him safe with your own gaze; guard him from the harm of the evil eye. God, make his name known across the world; honor him with the grace of obedience to you. Keep him steadfast in justice and piety; grant his wishes in this world and the next. May no unworthy enemy grieve him, and may no worry wound his heart. A heavenly tree bore fruit like you: a son who seeks renown, a father already renowned. Know that goodness is a stranger to any house whose people wish this house ill. What faith and knowledge, what justice and fairness, what a kingdom and fortune, may it last forever. God's kindnesses cannot be measured; what service can a grateful tongue ever render? God, this king who loves the poor, in whose shade the people find their ease, keep him long as a shelter over the people, and keep his heart alive by the grace of devotion. Let his tree of hope stay fruitful, his head green with life and his face bright with mercy. Do not walk the path of pretense, Sa'di; if you have sincerity, then bring it and come. You know the road, and the king is the traveler; you speak the truth, and the king listens for truth. What need is there to set the very throne of heaven beneath Qizil Arslan's feet? Do not say, set the foot of glory upon the skies; say instead, lay the face of sincerity upon the dust. In devotion press your face to the threshold, for this is the heart of the road of the righteous. If you are a servant, bow your head at this door and take the crown of lordship off your head. Before the court of the Majestic Commander, cry out like a beggar before a wealthy man. When you worship, do not wear the robe of kingship; raise your plea like a sincere pauper. Saying: my Lord, you are the wealthy one, you are the powerful one who nourishes the poor. I am no lord of lands nor any commander; I am only one of the beggars at this door. You gave me the power to do good; without you, what good could ever come from me to anyone? Pray at night with a beggar's burning heart, even if by day you play the king. The proud stand belted at your door, while at the threshold of worship you bow your head. How fine: a lord to his servants, yet to the Lord himself a servant who pays his due.

The great ones of the faith tell a story, those who know truth with the clear certainty of the soul. A man of enlightened heart once rode upon a leopard, urging it forward smoothly, a snake held in his hand as a whip. Someone said to him: You who walk the road to God, show me the path you have taken. What did you do to tame a wild beast, so that the ring of good fortune bears your name? He replied: If the leopard and the snake obey me, and even if the elephant and the vulture did, do not be amazed. You too, do not turn your neck away from God's command, and nothing will ever turn its neck away from yours. When a ruler acts by the command of God, then God is his protector and his helper. It is impossible, once He loves you, that He would leave you in the hands of an enemy. This is the way; do not turn your face from the true path. Take the step, and find the desire you carry. Advice benefits only the one who finds Saadi's words worth heeding.